Written answers

Tuesday, 12 July 2016

Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

Departmental Staff Recruitment

Photo of David CullinaneDavid Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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725. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the cost of agency and or locum staff hired by his Department for each of the years 2011 to 2015; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21663/16]

Photo of Michael CreedMichael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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My Department does not engage agency staff. It does however, from time to time, engage external services providers when such proves to be more cost effective when Department staff are not available. Such expenditure is based on competitive tendering with extensive use of Central Government and Department specific frameworks which continue to drive costs down.

My Department engages locum staff to carry out essential frontline services pending recruitment of full-time staff and to cover temporary business needs i.e. maternity leave cover. During the financial crisis, the staffing complement in my Department reduced by 30% due to retirements and redeployment of staff. In order to continue to provide essential services, my Department was required to engage locum staff as required by legislation to carry out essential functions in Meat slaughter plants where increased activity also led to increased supervisory obligations on my Department. The locum staff also carry out essential public health functions in our laboratory network and allow us maintain our Herd Health status when temporary resource gaps arise. My Department is actively working with our recruitment partners, the Public Appointments Service to arrange recruitment campaigns with a view to reducing our need to engage locum staff.

No locum staff were engaged in 2011 and 2012. In 2013, 2014 and 2015 expenditure on locum staff was €33,077, €238,498 and €785,394 respectively.

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