Michael Noonan
Question:1 Mr. Noonan asked the Taoiseach the number and grades of staff vacancies which exist in his Department; the steps being taken to ensure these vacancies are filled; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9952/01]
Ceisteanna – Questions. - Civil Service Recruitment.
The number and grades of staff vacancies which exist in my Department at present are set out in the following schedule and are generally consistent with day to day variations arising from promotions, departures etc. Recruitment to fill posts in my Department is in line with the normal procedures that apply to the Civil Service. Staff are assigned by the Civil Service Commission and recruited through FÁS in the case of services officers, services attendants and cleaners. Internal promotions are effected in accordance with agreed procedures in the Department.
At present my Department has a small number of requests with the Civil Service Commission for staff to fill posts at entry level and competitive promotion interviews are also ongoing in respect of other vacancies. I am circulating with the official report, a table setting out the vacancies by grade in my Department.
Vacancies in the Taoiseach's Department at 1 May 2001:
|
Grade |
Numbers |
|
Assistant Principal |
½* |
|
Higher Executive Officer |
1½* |
|
Administrative Officer |
2 |
|
Service Attendant |
1 |
|
Cataloguer (contract) |
1 |
|
Librarian (contract) |
1 |
|
Manager (contract) |
1 |
|
Personal Assistant (contract) |
1 |
|
Total |
9 |
*The job sharer at AP level has recently decentralised to another Department.
*Arises mainly from recent promotions to Assistant Principal.
Note:
The Government has decided to consolidate the posts of Secretary General of the Department and Secretary General to the Government, following the appointment of the current Secretary General to Secretary General of Foreign Affairs, and to create a new post of Second Secretary General in the Department of the Taoiseach with special responsibility for Northern Ireland, EU and international affairs.
Mr. Noonan: Is the Taoiseach aware that last March the CPSU, which represent 11,000 civil servants, voted by three to one to withdraw from the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness because the pay of its members had fallen significantly behind that of other public servants?
Will he confirm that the low pay for clerical grades is the main reason for the haemorrhage of staff from the Civil Service, which led to 1,794 vacancies, according to the Minister for Finance, when he answered the Parliamentary Question in this House last October?
The Taoiseach: A recent survey on retention within the grades of both the civil and public services was undertaken by the Civil Service Commission. This survey was agreed by the SMI implementation group and it highlighted the areas where there was a difficulty in retaining staff. Numbers were fairly stable across all grades except in the clerical grades. There has been choice and opportunity in recent years for young people to move around and earn better salaries and wages. I am aware of the CPSU demand. Its case is part of the benchmarking process and should help that situation. In recent years because of the level of Civil Service pay rates and the better rates available elsewhere, the security and stability of public service employment has not had the attraction it once had.
I am glad the Taoiseach has accepted that the main haemorrhage is from the clerical grades and that the CPSU has correctly reflected that its members are going elsewhere because their pay is so low. What steps is the Taoiseach taking to ensure that the CPSU does not take the industrial action it has threatened? As the Taoiseach is aware, the clerical grades are absolutely essential to the working of Departments.
There is no doubt about that. The clerical staff are highly respected across all Departments and none of us would be able to undertake our daily duties without them. This has been the case when they have undertaken industrial action in the past. The CPSU submitted its case in the benchmarking process and will compare that with the issue that has caused the problem. People have left the Civil Service not only to take up employment in the private sector but to work in other public sector areas where remuneration is higher. The CPSU has a case to put within the process. Everything that was agreed on 4 December, the PPF and the new taxation levels have all been of benefit to people in the lower grades. They will see the difference this month in their wages and salaries cheques.
Would the Taoiseach accept that one of the biggest difficulties facing any junior entrant into the Civil Service which is largely based in Dublin, is the impossibly high cost of accommodation. What plans has the Taoiseach to address this issue?
Will the Taoiseach inform the House of the number of vacancies currently in the office of the Chief State Solicitor? We were told last month by way of a parliamentary reply that there were 40 vacancies. Will the Taoiseach confirm that those 40 vacancies in the Chief State Solicitor's office are having a serious impact on the administration of the State's business and the administration of the justice system?
I do not have those figures available today but I gave that information to the House quite recently during Question Time. There are a number of vacancies in the office of the Chief State Solicitor. An additional recruitment competition has been held which has helped to fill a great number of the vacant posts. The vacancies in the Department of the Taoiseach number about nine at the moment, and about three or four will be filled. I do not wish to either understate or overstate the problem in the clerical grades in recent years.
There are 40 vacancies in the Chief State Solicitor's office.
Most of the posts in the office of the Chief State Solicitor are at solicitor level. Following negotiations which have been ongoing for the last year or year and a half, there has been a dramatic increase in staff numbers in the Attorney General's office and the Chief State Solicitor's office and the changes arising from the Nally report have been implemented. While it will take time, the posts will be filled. The offices are now working at a much higher level. When we conduct recruitment campaigns it would be nice if we could recruit staff, but at the level of the marketplace and the successful economy we cannot do what the private sector can do and pay the rate for the job regardless. All the rates and salary levels are linked and we have to stick to them.
I take it that the Taoiseach is familiar with the proposal of the Commission on Public Service Pensions which recommends that retirement at 65 years of age should be compulsory for all public servants. He is, probably, aware also that this is opposed by many individual public servants and the trade unions which represent them. Does he consider that this would be an inappropriate time to reduce the retirement age for some civil servants when the Civil Service Commission is finding it difficult to fill certain specialist posts?
I have always held the view – I dealt with this issue, as the Deputy will be aware, in 1993 – that a retirement age of 65 years is fair and I do not see an argument for changing it. In most European countries the debate is that it should be higher. Perhaps, it will also become an issue here. It is not at present. Most European countries, including the Swedish Presidency, are arguing that it should not be reduced at European level. I do not see anything wrong with a retirement age of 65 years.
Mr. Hayes
Given the staffing crisis in clerical grades in all Departments, will the Taoiseach confirm or deny that senior management within the Civil Service, including his own Department, is informing members of junior grades that they are entitled to claim family income supplement and that this particular mechanism is the only way through which people can be part and parcel of various Departments?
It all depends on family size. From the start family income supplement could have been paid to those on low salaries depending on family size. The same applies to clerical grades in the Civil Service. Let us not move away from the reality. If one looks back over the last 20 or 25 years, when times were good there was a flow of younger people from clerical and other grades. When times were a little harder there was no flow whatsoever. It is the attractions in the various sectors that give people the choice to move. In recent years they have had enormous choices. Some 300,000 jobs have been created and people saw opportunities to move.
Deputy Howlin asked about prices. The only logical and useful way to help is by way of the issue of decentralisation, which has proved successful for those who have been able to move. It is not what everybody wants.
The Taoiseach stopped it.
This is the Government which pressed decentralisation. A fortnight ago the Minister for Finance gave a detailed reply on the proposals he is examining on the issue.
It is disgraceful that those with families who act as clerical staff across Departments have to rely on family income supplement in times of prosperity. A further difficulty they are experiencing in the Civil Service is the total lack of child care facilities in Departments. What proposals does the Government have to provide crèches across Departments?
Family income supplement has been made quite attractive by the improvements the Government has made and which have been beneficial to those availing of it. There is not any indication that more members of the Civil Service are applying for it than there were but it is more beneficial to them now. The number who would take it up would depend on the number of children. It is useful for some people and it is an attraction for them to work.
This Government dramatically increased the amount of money for child care facilities, particularly in the public service. We assist people providing facilities and, where possible, provide the resources to provide more crèche places. I agree with this policy and substantial funds have been made available for it. In addition to providing crèche facilities, the Civil Service leads the way in facilitating career breaks, job sharing and pool arrangements for work and in implementing family friendly policies. These are increasingly utilised.
The Civil Service Commission is working to increase the attractiveness of the Civil Service through a range of measures which it announced recently. It held an exhibition to show the attractions of the Civil Service. We should not talk down the position. A career in the Civil Service is an attractive career which allows people to move through the career scales. The vast majority of people in the upper and middle ranks of the Civil Service joined the service at low levels. That has always been and will continue to be the case and it is the reason we should put it forward as an attractive career.
There are some difficulties due to the success of the economy elsewhere but those issues are being addressed.
Mr. Hayes
Last October, the Minister for Finance informed the House that a total of 1,794 vacancies existed throughout the 15 Government Departments. Has that figure increased since October?
I do not know the figure but in my Department the figure has been reduced significantly. There are a number of reasons for that. The Civil Service Commission has conducted additional competitions, which has assisted matters. It is also looking at other issues, such as retention levels. We did not do well over the years with regard to giving employees proper training and opportunities in their early years and it has been recommended that this should take place. We have not done that since the foundation of the State—
Mr. Hayes
The vacancies have not increased?
The number in my Department is nine and only about three of them are in clerical areas. I do not have the figures for the other Departments but the additional competitions held by the Civil Service Commission over the winter led to an improvement in the position in my Department so I presume that is happening elsewhere.