John Bruton
Question:1 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Taoiseach the total number of staff serving in his Department; the reason for any changes in numbers since 1 January 1999; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15236/99]
Ceisteanna–Questions. - Departmental Staff.
There are currently 171 staff serving in my Department. This figure does not include officers serving in organisations under the aegis of my Department or on secondment to other Departments or bodies. Since January 1999 there have been 27 appointments. Almost half were assigned to the clerical officer grade to fill outstanding vacancies which arose during 1998. The remaining appointments, at both clerical and administrative levels, were in respect of vacancies which existed due to resignations, secondments, transfers and staff opting for career breaks or job-sharing and the appointment of two additional administrative staff in the IT division.
Are the Department of the Taoiseach and other Departments finding difficulty filling positions at clerical officer level in view of the fact that the pay rates are more attractive outside the public sector for that type of work?
I should have apologised to the Ceann Comhairle at the outset. We had some difficulty forming a quorum because two Oireachtas committees met early today, namely the Select Committee on Education and Science and the Select Committee on Public Enterprise and Transport.
There is a difficulty on the staffing side, particularly in regard to clerical officers. The commission is finding it necessary to go a substantial way down the list before they can get suitable people for the jobs. People sit exams but do not subsequently take up appointments. That was the case in 1997 and 1998 and is still the case. There has been a 15 per cent turnover in staff within Departments as greater opportunities are now available to people.
What does the Government propose to do about the situation?
An examination of the 1956 Act is currently ongoing. Many of the procedures are outdated. The secretary to the Government, who is a civil service commissioner, is examining that together with other people. We did not experience these difficulties when we had an unemployment rate of 18 per cent. However, given that the rate of unemployment is now running at 5 per cent, the situation is very different. Greater numbers of young people are now staying in third level education. That is a good thing but it means there is a lack of interest in the clerical officer grade. Because of the opportunities now available in the private sector and the huge increase in employment, people who have attained a few year's experience move into the private sector.
Does the Taoiseach agree that job descriptions should be changed? People who previously served as clerical officers are now taking on executive roles in the private sector, with the aid of modern information technology. Regardless of pay rates, people will not be attracted into employment in which they do not have effective responsibility. Part of the difficulty may be that people who are recruited as clerical assistants and clerical officers in the public service do not have the responsibilities and opportunities to progress which people have starting out in the private sector. The problem relates not merely to pay, but to an outdated public service organisational structure which does not take the potential of information technology into account in allowing power and responsibility to be delegated to the lowest level.
The 1956 Act is dated. The procedures in the timing of examinations and recruitment competitions can be improved upon. In the past, people tended to stay on in the Civil Service, which they viewed as a career, but with the opportunities which are now available to them they move on. Many people have IT skills.
The private sector is clearly very keen on public service employees. I have watched this trend grow over several years and have spoken to colleagues and senior civil servants about it. Many civil servants are not applying for jobs but are being targeted by the private sector. That is not necessarily a bad thing and is an indication that people within the public sector and Civil Service possibly have greater skills and expertise than those in the private sector.
I have not ever witnessed such a degree of movement within the Civil Service. Because people are leaving the service, those who would formerly have been stuck in the clerical assistant grade are advancing through the system very quickly. That is a good thing. Perhaps our procedures are not as efficient as they might be; they certainly have not ever been used in the past to the same extent as they are now. People are going through the interview process in something of an ongoing whirl. This situation has arisen because more jobs and more attractive salaries are now available. I agree with the Deputy that pay is not the only issue involved.
On the numbers employed in his Department, is it the Taoiseach's intention to fill the vacancy of personal adviser created by the resignation of Mr. Duffy? Have all temporary employees in his Department signed a contract? Will he also confirm that he is the first Taoiseach to appoint a personal usher? Will he explain exactly what a personal usher does for a Taoiseach?
He rounds up Fianna Fáil Deputies for Question Time.
Every employee should sign a contract. As I explained last week, some contracts were not signed because a number of issues remained outstanding. I also said that such contracts should be signed and that any outstanding issues could be dealt with later. I have given instructions to this effect. I have not given any thought to the vacancy created by Mr. Duffy's resignation but I intend to fill it as a gap has been left. I understood the usher who moved from Leinster House to my floor did so on appointment. He does what every other usher did before him.
Even at the height of his grandest illusions of grandeur Mr. Haughey did not employ a personal tipstaff. Does the Taoiseach not consider that it is an unnecessary position?
The Deputy has a hard neck. He knows how many staff the Government of which he was a member employed. On the individual who moved from Leinster House, the reason listed is "for the purpose of questions". This role has always been played by a member of staff. There are no additional duties. He does not do anything special to make life easier for me.
Why was this not necessary for any of the Taoiseach's predecessors?
It is not a new appointment which was listed when the individual concerned moved from Leinster House. The individual concerned is part of the Taoiseach's staff.
Two posts in one.
Is the reason it is listed as a personal appointment that the Taoiseach requested the appointment of the individual concerned? Does he possess a particular skill?
All of the ushers in Leinster House possess particular skills. Because the individual concerned moved to the other side of the corridor, the appointment was listed.
Did the Taoiseach request that the individual concerned be appointed as his personal usher?
It is my understanding that the usher asked to be transferred to my domain on the other side of the corridor. I presume the usher he replaced moved somewhere else.
I wish the usher in question well.
Does he shop in Drumcondra?
I hope he has similar luck in the national lottery to some of his colleagues in the Department of the Taoiseach. On the recruitment of clerical officers and clerical assistants which presents a serious problem for the public service, is it not the case that while non-pay issues are part of the problem, pay is a big part? Is it not the case also that because the union involved settled early the staff concerned have lost out on some of the extra pay increases granted to those who did not settle early? There are issues of equity and efficiency. The Taoiseach and the Government need to tackle the problems of the lowest paid officials in Departments. This issue requires attention in the interests of the effective running of Government.
There are ongoing discussions concerning those who settled early. The Government has been fair in a number of these cases. This issue mainly concerns lower grades but, unlike in the past, people have moved up through the ranks in Departments because opportunities exist. I am conscious of lower paid staff in the public service.