Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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110. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent to which voluntary retirements, ordinary retirement or redundancies throughout the public sector have impacted particularly on the ability of some Departments to deliver their services; the extent to which he expects to be in a position to address this issue in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31174/16]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The Moratorium on Public Service Recruitment and Promotion was removed by the previous Government in 2015, and there has been considerable recruitment across many areas of the Public Service since then.  In 2015, Public Service numbers increased by just over 8,500, and up to mid-point this year numbers have increased by a further 4,000.  Also since 2015, Government Departments have been operating under delegated sanction arrangements, giving them authority to make staffing and resource allocation decisions according to their business needs, within agreed overarching pay ceilings.  As part if this, Departments have also made significant investment in enhancing internal strategic HR capacity and have adopted a workforce planning framework to plan over the medium term for the impact of staffing and operational changes, including the impact of losing experienced staff to retirement.  These are the mechanisms that allow Government Departments to plan and manage their business needs in a more stable and strategic manner.

With regard to the impact of redundancy, it should be noted that instances of redundancy in the Public Service are small, and where it occurs it takes place on a voluntary basis and is always informed by business related decisions aimed at improving service efficiency and/or effectiveness.  The Government introduced scope for voluntary redundancy in late 2012 to support its ambitious programme of Public Service Reform, which included proposals for shared services and increased use of online services, but it has not been a significant feature of change in the Public Service.  The number of people who have left the Public Service under a voluntary redundancy scheme is of the order of 1,000, out of a total staffing level of more than 300,000.