Vol. 568 No. 3
113 Mr. McGuinness asked the Minister for the Environment Heritage and Local Government the number of internal auditors employed by Dúchas; the professional qualifications of each; the length of service of each with his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16333/03]
115 Mr. McGuinness asked the Minister for the Environment Heritage and Local Government if there is a human resource section in Dúchas; the number of staff involved; the professional qualifications of each; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16335/03]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 113 and 115 together.
The corporate services division in my Department has responsibility for all staff in the environment, heritage and local government functional areas. The Dúchas brand has been discontinued under new operational arrangements approved by Government last April. The total staffing complement involved in human resource matters is 78.
Dúchas did not have its own separate internal auditors. Internal audit was carried out by the internal audit section of the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands and since mid-2002 it has devolved to the EU-internal audit section of my Department. This section comprises six persons drawn from general Civil Service grades. These persons have been appointed on the basis of the best available competencies for the work involved, supplemented by appropriate training and development.
