Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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823. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of staff vacancies, by grade, in his Department at the end of August 2023 and August 2024; and the number of staff, by grade, on a career break of more than five years and more than six years, at the end of August 2023 and August 2024. [44119/24]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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My Department is committed to ensuring that a skilled and motivated workforce is in place to meet its priority business needs. Workforce planning processes are utilised to identify our requirements across all our grade streams and locations, aiming to ensure a long-term, proactive and strategic plan by which current and future staffing needs are addressed.

As business needs arise, staff are allocated to support organisational priorities within my Department. Overall staffing levels and required skills are monitored to ensure business needs are met. Requirements are continually addressed in order to minimise the duration for which a post remains vacant. Our records do not readily lend themselves to retrospectively identifying the number of vacancies on a specific historic date. Consequently, the number of vacancies broken down by grade as existed in August 2023 and August 2024 are not available.

In addressing the filling of vacancies within my Department, consideration is given to upcoming career break returns. My Department recognises the importance of supporting our colleagues in their return to the workforce and aims to facilitate such returns with minimum delay.

In relation to staff in my Department on career break, one Clerical Officer and one Veterinary Inspector were both on career breaks of more than six years at the end of August 2023. There were no other officers on career break of more than five years at the end of August 2023.

One Clerical Officer was on a career break of more than six years at the end of August 2024.

In addition another Clerical Officer and one Agricultural Inspector were on career breaks of more than five years at the end of August 2024.