David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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41. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government the reason for the 21% drop in local authority employment levels in each of the years 2008 to 2013 as highlighted by the recent report of the Public Sector Pay Commission; the extent to which the drop in staff has been compensated through the use of agency recruitment and outsourcing; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26057/17]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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The moratorium on recruitment and promotion in the public service was introduced in March 2009 following a Government decision to implement savings measures across the wider public service, as a response to the financial crisis facing the State.

The terms of the moratorium were explicit and provided that no public service post, however arising, was to be filled by recruitment or promotion. When vacancies arose public bodies were to reallocate or reorganise work or staff accordingly. Any exceptions to this principle, which arose in very limited circumstances only, required prior sanction.

My Department received a delegated sanction from the Department of Finance in August 2009 for implementation of this general moratorium on the filling of public sector posts across all local authorities. This was on condition that the overall staffing levels in the sector were reduced in line with the Employment Control Framework.

Under section 159 of the Local Government Act 2001, each Chief Executive is responsible for staffing and organisational arrangements necessary for carrying out the functions of the local authorities for which he or she is responsible.  In this regard, it was a matter for each Chief Executive, in the first instance, to ensure that the moratorium was implemented while the appropriate service levels were maintained.  The use of agency recruitment and outsourcing was, and remains, a matter for each Chief Executive to consider.

Local authorities undertook work force planning to identify how staff could be optimally deployed and to highlight gaps that needed to be filled. Local authorities re-deployed staff and re-allocated work to meet key needs. Where the gaps couldn't be filled, local authorities applied to my Department seeking sanction to recruit.

My Department carefully operated its delegated sanction from the Department of Finance and later from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and worked very closely with local authorities to ensure that critical posts were filled while overall numbers were reduced. In considering sanction requests, public safety, maintaining key front line services and economic issues were given precedence as was the requirement to avoid increases in overall staffing levels. Contract posts were favoured as they allowed flexibility in this challenging period for Ireland's economy. In the very exceptional situation that a post was to be filled permanently all redeployment options, including redeployment from the broader public service, were fully exhausted before recruitment was permitted.

My Department gathers quarterly data on staff numbers in local authorities. The data gathered does not provide detail in respect of the use of agency recruitment and outsourcing, and accordingly the information requested is not available in my Department.