Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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165. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if it has been brought to his attention that over the past five years the number of outdoor general operatives on the staff of Sligo County Council has been reduced by 28; the number of drivers and plant operators has been reduced by five; the number of craftworkers reduced by 11; the number of handymen reduced by seven and the number of gangers reduced by two; the proposal with his Department to approve the appointment of personnel to replace these vacant posts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43486/14]

Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left)
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166. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the fact that Sligo County Council is designated as a level 5 local authority and the range of senior management staff recommended at each level is outlined in the Workforce Planning in the Local Government Sector document prepared by his Department's working group in September 2012; if it has been brought to his attention that the recommended number of senior engineers, senior executive officers and analogous posts for Sligo County Council is nine and if it has been further brought to his attention that council management proposes to exceed the limit to 12; if it has been brought to his attention that the recommended number of administrative officers and analogous posts for Sligo County Council is between seven and ten and that council management proposes to exceed the limit to 18; that the recommended number of senior executive engineers and analogous posts for Sligo County Council is between seven and ten and that council management proposes to exceed the limit to 17; if it is the intention of his Department to set aside the limits outlined in the Workforce Planning in the Local Government Sector document and to approve the proposed number of senior management posts in Sligo County Council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43487/14]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 165 and 166 together.

The moratorium on recruitment and promotion in the public service was introduced in March 2009 in response to the financial crisis. My Department operates a delegated sanction from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform for implementation of the moratorium in relation to local authorities, and any exceptions to the moratorium in local authorities require sanction from my Department.

The local government sector has been at the forefront in driving greater efficiencies and securing financial savings during the financial crisis. My Department and local authorities recognise that it is critical that the present and future workforce demographic is examined in the context of service delivery, organisational diversity, knowledge transfer, upskilling/reskilling and succession planning.

To support the sector in effectively managing the combination of staff reductions and the reform/change programme a Workforce Study was undertaken jointly by local authorities and my Department. In particular, it assessed the management requirements of local authorities bearing in mind the potential impacts of shared services and other reform initiatives. Each local authority in turn was asked to prepare a detailed workforce plan outlining how it will implement the Study’s recommendations. The individual local authority work force plan examines all categories of local authority staff, and will highlight changes in staffing levels in all areas including outdoor.

For each local authority undertaking a work force plan the Chief Executive is responsible for staffing and organisational arrangements necessary for carrying out the functions of the local authorities for which he or she is responsible as described under section 159 of the Local Government Act 2001, which remains unchanged by the Local Government Reform Act 2014. In this regard, it is a matter for Chief Executives, in the first instance, to ensure that the moratorium is implemented while the appropriate service levels are maintained.

My Department examines all staffing sanction requests on a case by case basis having due regard to the continued delivery of key services in the context of staffing and budgetary constraints in conjunction with the work force plans submitted for that local authority. Sligo County Council has recently submitted a work force plan which examines all categories of local authority staff and highlight s recent changes in staffing levels in all areas including outdoor. Each local authority is expected to meet the targets as identified in the Workforce Study, or give an indication as to how these targets will be met in the future.

The Sligo County Council work force plan is presently under review.