Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 18 Oct 2000

Vol. 524 No. 3

Written Answers. - Departmental Staff.

Minister for Finance (Mr. McCreevy)

The number of vacancies for each Civil Service grade currently in my Department are as follows:

Civil Service Grade	No. of Vacancies
Secretary General	0
Second Secretary General	1
Deputy Secretary	0
Asst. Secretary	0
Principal Officer	0
Assistant Principal	10
Administrative Officer/Higher Executive Officer	10
Higher Executive Officer/Systems Analyst	5
Executive Officer	3
Executive Officer/Junior Systems Analyst	4
Staff Officer	1
Clerical Officer	7
Services Officer	2
Services Attendant	1
Total Vacancies	44

1. In relation to the filling of these vacancies, my Department is currently in discussion with a number of individuals who have been assigned to this Department from various Civil Service Commission panels. The post at second secretary general level is in the process of being filled by a TLAC competition.

2. With regard to your query on the additional steps I will take to attract and keep staff, my Department recently co-operated with the Civil Service Commission and the High Skills Pool in their joint staging of the first ever public sector recruitment fair which was held in the RDS on Sunday, 28 May 2000. The aim of the fair was to highlight the many attractions of a career in the public sector. The fair attracted almost 8,000 visitors and numerous follow-up inquiries from people who could not attend. There were two recruitment competitions live on the day and I understand from the Civil Service Commission that the response to those competitions was satisfactory in the current tight labour situation. My Department will continue to support and contribute to all future such initiatives by the Civil Service Commission.

3. In common with other Government Departments, my Department offers family friendly initiatives such as parental leave, career breaks, job-sharing and flexi-time arrangements and this year for the first time my Department partici pated in the pilot term-time scheme. In addition, my Department offers educational support and ongoing staff training and development. These initiatives go a long way in enhancing the attractiveness of the Civil Service to prospective employees.

4. A crucial factor in the attraction and retention of staff is the provision of training and development opportunities. The roll out of the performance management and development system in my Department and the associated induction and development programme, should increase job satisfaction and ongoing career development. The system will enable staff to have a greater say in how work is managed and a personal training and development plan will be drawn up for each employee. The end result for staff will be to enhance skills and competencies in relation to both their existing job and their career as a whole.

5. A working group chaired by the Department of Finance in close consultation with the Civil Service Commission is currently preparing a report on marketing and retention in the Civil Service for the implementation group of secretaries general under the SMI process. I expect the group to report shortly.