Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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343. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the administration and maintenance staffing levels in the Galway and Roscommon Education and Training Board since the organisations merged in July 2013 to date in 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10324/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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Administrative and maintenance staffing levels in ETBs are predominately funded from the Schools and Head Office Programme pay budgets that are provided annually by my Department to each ETB. The quarterly staffing returns for Galway and Roscommon ETB show that it had 106.75 whole-time equivalent posts at 30 June 2013 funded in this manner.  The equivalent figure for 30 September 2016 is 92.21 whole time equivalent posts.   

Staffing approvals from my Department for categories of staff such as teachers, school support staff and head office administration staff are allocated to the ETB scheme. The way in which such staff are allocated between Head Office, individual schools, colleges and other centres is a matter for each ETB. 

As was the case with the public sector generally, overall administrative and maintenance staffing levels in the ETB sector have reduced since 2009 as a result of the moratorium on public sector recruitment. Limited alleviation arrangements were put in place to ensure that schools have at least one secretary, caretaker and cleaner. 

ETBs are also provided with Schools Services Support Funding from my Department to assist with the provision of support services for schools. ETBs may use this funding to buy-in additional secretarial support for schools on an agency type basis.  The level of this funding provided to Galway and Roscommon ETB increased from €547,952 in 2013 to €688,581 in 2017.    

In relation to head office vacancies, my Department’s overall approach to the filling of vacancies is guided by what is affordable within the ETB budget, how the staffing level in the ETB compares to similar sized ETBs, and what are the staffing pressures and priorities in the ETB in question. In this regard, my Department recently met with the senior management of Galway and Roscommon ETB. Following this meeting, my Department sanctioned the filling of a temporary Assistant Principal (including associated back-filling) and 2 Grade III posts in order to support the ETB in implementing its functions and the restructuring and streamlining process that is underway in the ETB.

In addition and in order to strengthen the senior management team across the ETB sector, my Department has sanctioned the filling of a number of Director posts in individual ETBs which include a Director of Further Education and Training, Director of Schools and a Director of Organisation Support & Development post. These Director posts have been, or are in the process of being, filled via a recruitment process conducted by the Public Appointments Service.