Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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My Department considers its overall allocation and resource needs on an ongoing basis and through a workforce planning process. The need for additional posts in 2019 was considered in conjunction with Budget 2019 and the Revised Estimates and taking account of the delivery of urgent business priorities that cannot be met with current staff resources.

This exercise was undertaken in the context of the expansion of responsibilities across the Department, in light of Brexit and other global challenges, the growing number of priorities facing the Department in 2019, including the significant increase in the number of employment permit applications.

In this regard, a total of 16 additional critical posts were identified to meet the Department’s priorities for 2019. The overall cost of approving the additional staffing requests associated with the priority areas identified for the Department is €572,354.18. This information is set out in the following table.

It should be noted that this position may need to be reviewed later this year when the next cycle of workforce planning is undertaken, particularly in respect of the demand for employment permits.

In relation to the Offices of the Department, an additional pay budget was allocated to the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE) and the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) for 2019.

The ODCE was allocated an additional pay budget of €740,000 to assist with the transition of the Office into a statutory agency. Identification of the specific posts that will be required are part of the ongoing work underway, to progress the transition of the ODCE to agency status.

The WRC was allocated an additional €640,000 for pay to provide for additional resources to support the extension of their functions to include other sectors of employees who will gain access to their services.

The Agencies that come within the remit of my Department, carry out their own workforce planning exercises and have at this early stage identified the following additional positions and costs associated with these for 2019.