Maureen O'Sullivan (Dublin Central, Independent)
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784. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the number of staff working within the State pension section; the number in each area within the section; and when staff were last taken on in the section. [29491/19]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Irish state pension schemes are centrally administered from the Department’s office located at College Road, Sligo.  Staffing figures as at the end of June are set out in the table below; there are two figures provided; one for the full-time equivalent staffing number (FTE) and the other for the number of staff on site (comprises full-time staff and staff availing of shorter working weeks).

The staffing needs for all areas within the Department are continuously reviewed, taking account of workloads, management priorities and the ongoing need to respond to new increasing demands in a wide range of services. This is to ensure that the best use is made of all available resources with a view to providing an efficient service to those who rely on the schemes operated by the Department.

In addition to the above there are a number of staff who provide support services such as scanning and postal work to the pensions area.  Temporary resources were recruited to the pensions area on a phased basis since September 2018 to carry out a specific pension review and these staff will be released as the review work progresses to completion.  

The most recent recruitment of staff to the State Pension schemes occurred in July 2019.