Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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368. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the current average age of permanent staff employed within his Department and the agencies under his Department's remit; the way this varies from the end of 2008 and 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29200/15]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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The average age of staff currently employed in my Department is set out below, along with the corresponding figures for 2008 and 2011.

The increase on average age reflects the various initiatives the Government introduced in recent years to reduce the public sector pay bill. Central to these has been the moratorium on recruitment to the public sector and the Employment Control Framework (ECF) mechanism administered centrally by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) which placed challenging staff reduction targets for all public sector bodies. Accordingly, recruitment of new staff has been at a minimum and therefore, notwithstanding ongoing retirements, the average staff age figure has increased over the period in question.

In the Budget of October 2014 the Government announced the ending of the moratorium on recruitment. This will allow for new recruitment to the public service (subject to strict pay limits) and is likely to have the effect of reducing the average staff age.

In relation to staffing within the Agencies under the aegis of my Department, I have asked all Agencies under the aegis of my Department to advise me of the relevant figures, and I will communicate that information to the Deputy as soon as it is available.