Written answers
Wednesday, 18 September 2024
Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment
State Bodies
Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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68. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment about workforce planning in the SEAI; to provide a breakdown of the full-year cost of employing one FTE, per staffing grade, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36265/24]
Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) was established under the Sustainable Energy Act of 2002. The Authority is a body corporate with functions and responsibilities as set out under Section 6 of the Act, which include inter alia promoting and assisting;
- environmentally and economically sustainable production, supply and use of energy,
- energy efficiency and renewable sources of energy,
- the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions,
- minimising of the impact on the environment of the production, supply and use of energy,
- research, development, and demonstration of relevant technologies.
SEAI is funded by the Government of Ireland, through the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications and the Department of Transport. In 2024 the Agency’s total budget allocation is over €600 million.
SEAI is key to informing, supporting, implementing, and delivering Government energy policy and the Climate Action Plan. The programmes administered by SEAI have a major impact on the Irish economy through home and community energy upgrades, business supports, research and innovation funding, and Electric Vehicle (EV) grants. SEAI has also been designated as the National Retrofit Delivery Body. In this role, the SEAI act as the lead agency in driving the delivery of Ireland’s residential retrofit targets.
While a cohort of staff within SEAI are involved in a range of administrative functions that support schemes, the agency is also assisted by a service provider that provides the front-end customer service.
Please find below figures as requested, based on fulltime equivalent headcount and median cost per grade plus employer PRSI.
| Grade | CEO | Director | Level F | Level E | SSO | Eng 11 | Level D | Level C |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Headcount FTE | 1 | 4 | 14 | 63 | 3 | 18.7 | 120.8 | 9.8 |
| Cost per 1 FTE (Median + ER PRSI) | 192,414 | 153,678 | 126,558 | 100,160 | 96,515 | 88,477 | 68,597 | 49,497 |
SEAI continue to enhance their staffing levels consistent with the scaling up of capacity to support the significant policy developments announced in recent years under the Climate Acton Plan and National Retrofit Plan. The funding provided to the SEAI brought staff levels close to 235 by the end of 2023, in line with their Workforce Plan 2021-2023.
| SEAI – 2020-2024 WTEs | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 93.1 | 125.5 | 170 (195 Sanctioned) | 227* (235 Sanctioned) | 235 YTD (255 Sanctioned) |
Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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69. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment about workforce planning in the Commission for Regulation of Utilities; to provide a breakdown the full-year cost of employing one FTE, per staffing grade, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36266/24]
Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) is an independent regulator, accountable to a committee of the Oireachtas and not the Minister.
While CRU is financed by means of a levy on regulated entities, it must receive approval from the Minister for the Environment, Climate & Communications and the Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery & Reform, in consultation with the Department of Housing Local Government & Heritage, for staffing levels.
Please see below a table of the breakdown of the full year cost of one Full Time Employee of the Commission for Regulation of Utilities per staffing grade:
| Grade | *Average cost to employ one person at this grade | |
|---|---|---|
| Commissioner | € 241,880 | |
| Director | € 218,100 | |
| Senior Manager | € 145,600 | |
| Managers | € 121,000 | |
| Senior Inspector | € 124,500 | |
| Inspector | € 108,400 | |
| Professional/Specialist | € 108,400 | |
| Senior Analyst | € 82,300 | |
| Analyst | € 64,000 | |
| Graduate Analyst | € 49,600 | |
| Admin Level B | € 58,400 | |
| Admin Level C | € 47,000 | |
| Total | € 1,369,180 |
*Cost to employ one person per grade calculated using an average of salary increments for that grade including employer expenses rounded to the nearest €100.
CRU provides a dedicated email address for Oireachtas members at oireachtas@cru.ie, which enables them to raise more specific operational and resourcing matters directly to the CRU.
Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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70. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment about workforce planning at the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority; to provide a breakdown of the full-year cost of employing one FTE, per staffing grade, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36267/24]
Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Maritime Area Regulatory Authority (MARA) was established 17 July 2023. The agency has regulatory functions in the marine area that form part of a new approach to marine planning established by the Maritime Area Planning Act 2021.
The Maritime Area Planning Act 2021 at Section 64(1) provides that:
“64. (1) The MARA may, with the consent of the Minister given with the approval of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, appoint such and so many persons to be members of the staff of the MARA as it may determine”.
The MARA provided for a structure of a CEO plus 74 staff in its workforce plan and for which sanction has been provided by the Department of Public Expenditure NDP Delivery and Reform.
At June 2024, the MARA report its staff complement was 45 and is estimated to reach 58 by end year. Recruitment and staffing remain a priority for MARA. The agency is actively recruiting and it notes structures will reflect learnings from the first year of operation and be informed by the demand for MARA’s services.
The MARA salary scales are aligned with civil servant grades. The following table outlines the full year costs for FTE based on civil servant median rates for 2024:
| CEO | PO | AP | HEO | AO | EO | CO | Senior Marine Advisor ( Engineer Grade 1) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 168,937 | 114,830 | 87,044 | 63,164 | 52,712 | 46,729 | 37,004 | 90,221 |
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