Written Answers. - Contract Employees.
Ben Briscoe
Question:
12
Mr. Briscoe
asked the
Taoiseach
if persons from outside the public service have been employed, under contract, in the drafting and preparation of legislation put before the Houses of the Oireachtas since January 1995; if so, the names of the persons so employed; the titles of the Bills they worked on; the amount paid in each case; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[15816/96]
Six people, who are from outside the public service, are currently engaged on a contract basis to assist the Office of the Attorney General in the drafting of legislation. They are: Edward Bacon, SC; Marcus Bourke, BL; James Dorling, BL, Solr.; Peter Graham, QC; Vincent Grogan, SC; and Peter Johnson, QC.
Given the nature of the work and some of the subject areas contained in a number of the Bills it would be invidious to identify any draftsman with a particular Bill. In addition, the drafting of Bills requires the expertise and the ongoing involvement of a number of different groups including legal assistants, other draftsmen and officials of Government Departments. The following is a list of the titles of the Bill, including amendments, which have involved, among others, contract draftsmen and which have been put before the Houses of the Oireachtas since January 1995:
Adoption (No.2) Bill, 1996.
Adoptive Leave Bill, 1993.
An Bord Bia (Amendment) Bill, 1995.
Civil Liability (Amendment) Bill, 1996.
Civil Service Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 1996.
Commissioners of Public Works (Functions and Powers) Bill, 1995.
Committees of the Houses of the Oireachtas (Compellability, Privileges and Immunities of Witnesses) Bill, 1995.
Criminal Law (Incest Proceedings) (No. 2) Bill, 1995.
Criminal Law Bill, 1996.
Disclosure of Certain Information for Taxation and Other Purposes Bill, 1996.
Dumping at Sea (Amendment) Bill, 1996.
Employment Equality Bill, 1996.
Ethics in Public Office Bill, 1995.
European Parliament Elections Bill, 1996.
Family Law Bill, 1994.
Family Law (Divorce) Bill, 1996.
Fifteenth Amendment of the Constitution (No. 2) Bill, 1995.
Garda Síochána Bill, 1996.
Health (Amendment) Bill, 1995.
Heritage Bill, 1994.
Industrial Development Bill, 1995.
Local Government (Delimitation of Water Supply Disconnection Powers) Bill, 1995.
Metrology Bill, 1996.
Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill, 1995.
National Standards Authority of Ireland Bill, 1995.
Netting of Financial Contracts Bill, 1995.
Package Holidays and Travel Trade Bill, 1995.
Powers of Attorney Bill, 1996.
Proceeds of Crime Bill, 1996.
Regulation of Information (Services Outside the State for Termination of Pregnancies) Bill, 1995.
Road Traffic Bill, 1995, and
Transitional Information and Consultation of Employees Bill, 1996.
Voluntary Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill, 1995.
Other Bills which are currently being drafted by the draftsmen concerned include the following:
Children (Juvenile Justice) Bill.
Constitution Amendment (Cabinet Confidentiality) Bill.
Constitution Amendment (Votes for Emigrants) Bill.
Credit Union Bill.
Equal Status Bill.
Fisheries (Amendment) Bill (Aquaculture).
Freedom of Information Bill.
Litter (Pollution) Bill.
Referendum Bill.
Road Transport Bill.
Taxes (Consolidation) Bill.
Universities Bill.
The terms and conditions under which the contract staff are engaged by the Office are negotiated individually. It would, therefore, be inappropriate to disclose details on an individual basis. However, in the period January 1995, to June 1996, the sum of £316,069, excluding VAT, was spent on engaging contract draftsmen. The average annualised earnings of the contract staff would be £57,467.
Deputies will be aware from the second report on the implementation of the report of the review group on the Office of the Attorney General which was published on 28 May 1996, that three additional senior draftsmen have been appointed to the office. This and other initiatives within the office will mean that the demand for contract draftsmen, in the medium to long-term, should diminish. In the meantime, the ever-increasing demand placed upon the office as evident from the above lists and the lengthy training period required to bring new staff to an effective skills level means that in the short to medium term the use of external expertise will continue. In fact, the training and development of recently-recruited staff in the office is another area where contract draftsmen have and continue to be involved.
