Michael Noonan
Question:3 Mr. Noonan asked the Taoiseach the number of staff vacancies in his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20942/01]
Ceisteanna – Questions. - Departmental Staff.
I am circulating in the Official Report a table setting out the vacancies by grade in my Department which are generally consistent with day to day variations arising from promotions, departures, etc.
Recruitment to fill posts in my Department is in line with normal procedures that apply to the Civil Service. Staff are assigned by the Civil Service Commission except in the case of services officers, services attendants and cleaners who are recruited directly through FÁS. At present, my Department has a small number of requests for staff with the Civil Service Commission to fill posts at entry level and these should be filled shortly.
List of vacancies in the Department of the Taoiseach at 23 October 2001:
|
Grade |
Numbers |
|
Higher Executive Officer |
½ |
|
Administrative Officer |
2 |
|
Clerical Officer |
1 |
|
Total |
3½ |
*½ represents officers job sharing
Can the Taoiseach indicate what loss there is in his Department and across Departments to the private sector and if there is difficulty getting professional civil servants to serve in his Department? I am talking about civil servants with professional qualifications, such as engineers, architects, etc. Has that difficulty continued?
The work the Civil Service Commission has done over the past year or two and the effort put into this area by the former Secretary to the Government to improve the system and the turnaround has worked effectively. Perhaps there is not as much movement in the clerical area as there was in the past. The number of vacancies in my Department is small. There are still high numbers in the Chief State Solicitor's office, but that is mainly following the agreement with IMPACT and others. That will change when it and the DPP's office moves after Christmas when they will be involved in an active recruitment to fill those extra posts. A survey was done by the Civil Service Commission and it showed that the retention levels in most grades in the Civil Service are good. It indicates there is no marked difficulty with retention across most grades. Where turnover occurs, it tends to be concentrated at clerical level. This is not altogether unexpected in the current jobs market where young people want to take their chances and get different job experiences where there are opportunities for them to do so.
Arising out of the retention survey, a report on marketing and retention in the Civil Service was agreed with the SMI implementation group and Secretaries General and a programme has been developed. The recommendations of the work programme are categorised in short, medium and long-term goals. The implementation of the short-term recommendations is now under way and the implementation group of the Secretaries General will oversee the implementation in the medium and long-term. The report highlights the areas in which efforts need to be concentrated to recruit people, particularly in the marketing of jobs and the management and care of people. It is difficult in some professional areas, particularly the legal area, but most of the other areas are not having great difficulty filling posts. There is still a turnover in some of the areas where people move on quickly when opportunities arise. It has improved. A number of things have been implemented by the Civil Service Commission and by the Civil Service to try to maintain people in the system.