Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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1168. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation her views on the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement not having had a forensic accountant employed for the past year; and the steps she is taking to rectify this. [9894/16]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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The mission of the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE) is to improve the compliance environment for corporate activity in the Irish economy by encouraging adherence to the requirements of the Companies Acts, and bringing to account those who disregard the law.

The Office's staffing comprises a multi-disciplined team of accountants, administrators and lawyers and civil servants of my Department. Staffing resources are sought and allocated across my Department and its Offices, including the ODCE, in the context of the requirement to manage the pay bill and staff numbers in accordance with Government policy, utilising available resources in the most effective and efficient manner as appropriate to business needs and priorities.

On a day-to-day basis the HR Unit of my Department works with individual Business Units and the Department’s Management Board team on the allocation of staff resources and this would include the ODCE. As an “Office” of my Department, this allows the Secretary General and his HR team the freedom to reallocate resources from one Business Unit to another as priorities change, always mindful that the pay-budget limits do constrain our capacity to grow staffing levels as well as having regard to strategic priorities captured through the workforce planning process, the latest iteration of which is currently under way in the Department.

In line with the current business needs of the ODCE, my Department and the ODCE have been working with PAS on the recruitment of seven “Investigators” or professional forensic accountants. PAS has overseen the advertising and selection processes and, having concluded the interview process, has been progressing the requisite Garda vetting with a view to assigning successful candidates to my Department for assignment in the ODCE as a priority.

To date my Department has received individual letters of assignment from PAS for five of the appointments and formal contract offers have been made to the relevant candidates. Of the five, one contract offer has been declined by a candidate; three contracts have been formally signed and start dates agreed. My Department is engaging proactively with PAS and the successful candidates to fill the remaining posts as a priority.