Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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122. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of agency staff hired and-or engaged by his Department in the past five years to date; the cost per year of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49301/19]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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It will not be possible to provide the information requested by the Deputy within the time allowed. I will write to the Deputy when it has been collated.

Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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123. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of agency staff hired and-or engaged by her Department in the past five years to date; the cost per year of same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49290/19]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Staffing resources are an ongoing priority to ensure my Department’s continued ability to facilitate the wide mission and volume of work in a range of challenging policy areas. This will continue with ongoing day-to-day review of the appropriate staffing mix across my Department in response to known and probable priority areas.

My Department liaises directly with the Public Appointments Service (PAS) and Top-Level Appointments Committee (TLAC) in relation to the filling of posts.

However, where there is a requirement for particular critical skills that are not available at a point in time, or when a particular service is required for a short period of time, my Department will use the services of an Employment Agency to acquire the required skills.

In the past 5 years, 2 of the Offices of my Department have required the need of legal support in terms of both legal researcher and legal secretarial services. Further details are set out in the following table.

My Department, as part of the workforce planning process, is constantly reviewing the resource and skills demands across the Department and its Offices and the Human Resources Unit of my Department is currently exploring other mechanisms to meet the increasing demands for legal support.