Vol. 490 No. 6
28 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands the extent of the employment of contract staff by the Office of Public Works and her Department specifically in the architect, archaeologist and ecologist grades; the Government's policy in relation to this trend; if permanent recruitment to the Civil Service will take place to offset this trend; and, if so, when. [10778/98]
The Deputy will appreciate that I have no function in relation to the Office of Public Works, and I am not in a position therefore, to provide information in relation to it. In the case of my own Department, contractors have continued to be engaged in carrying out specific tasks, which was the situation pertaining in the Office of Public Works prior to the transfer of the heritage services to my Department.
The number of contractors providing services in the areas listed by the Deputy are as follows: 10 — The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage including recording of structures and the preparation of Inventories for publication, etc.; 22 — Various archaeological surveys in connection with the Archaeological Survey of Ireland, including fieldwork, writing up reports on findings and editing volumes on same; liaising with local authorities and advising on planning and development issues involving sites of archaeological interest; updating the Sites and National Monuments Records; implementing the new provisions of section 12 of the National Monuments (Amendment) Act, 1994 and completing a Sites and Monuments Record for Maritime Wrecks as well as maritime archaeological survey constraint mapping manuals, etc.; and 19 — Facilitating the production of management plans for areas proposed as special areas of conservation, etc.
The Government and the Social Partners are committed under Partnership 2000 to the delivery of quality services, and to an adaptable and responsive public service. In this context, my Department is presently involved in consultations with the Department of Finance as to how the above listed services might best be provided in the future.
