asked the Minister for Finance the present policy in relation to the filling of vacanies in the public service.
Written Answers. - Public Service Vacanies.
16.
The position in relation to the various areas of the public service other than the Civil Service is as follows.
In the education sector, teaching vacancies in national, secondary, community, comprehensive and vocational schools may be filled as they arise, subject to the regulations. The schemes for the employment of clerk-typists in national schools and secondary schools and caretakers in national schools are being phased out as posts fall vacant and no new posts are being created. The filling of vacancies in the non-academic staff area of vocational education committees is operated on the basis of the Government policy of filling one in three vacancies as they arise.
Numbers employed in the health services are controlled through the budgets made available in respect of pay costs contained in the allocations to agencies in respect of non-capital expenditure and any vacancies arising are filled in this context.
The number of cadets, nurses and "other ranks" recruited to the Permanent Defence Force each year is determined primarily by the annual financial allocations in the Defence Vote.
The Government decided, in Building on Reality 1985-1987, to fix the upper limit on numbers in the Garda Síochana at 11,400. Present policy is to recruit to maintain the force at that level.
The policy in relation to the filling of vacancies in the local authority service is that measures at least equivalent in effect to those in the Civil Service are to apply to local authorities. Appropriate targets are set for the reduction in officer numbers. The number of local authority servants taken on is largely a function of the level of Exchequer assistance for roads, housing, sanitary services and rates support grants.
In the non-commercial State bodies, the embargo on the filling of two vacancies in every three continues to apply. Certain bodies have been exempted from the embargo by Government decision. These include CERT, and the teaching staff of AnCO. Special arrangements have been made in the case of bodies set up since the embargo was introduced, such as the National Development Corporation and the Youth Employment Agency.