Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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250. To ask the Minister for Finance if he will provide, in tabular form, the number of staff in his Department currently on a sabbatical or a career break, broken down by zero to six months, six to 12 months, one to two years, two to three years, four to five years and five years or more; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23404/15]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The following table outlines the current sabbatical/career break position in my Department.

The staff of my Department are at the centre of our HR Strategy which aims to support the Department in achieving our strategy and goals. Employee Engagement is one of the elements of that strategy. Integral to that are centrally agreed family friendly policy initiatives such as flexible working arrangements, career break schemes etc. that are to the mutual benefit of the Department and staff.

Staff can avail of career breaks and other forms of special leave for domestic, personal, educational, travel, and other self-development reasons, based on the demands and business of the Department. The experience gained during such time out of the Department is often of great benefit to the individual, and also to the Department when they return to their civil service post. 

Such schemes are now more proactively managed through our Workforce Planning process. By maintaining contact with staff on special forms of leave in relation to their intention to return to the Department, we have also been better able to plan for the future.