As I outlined last week in the Dáil in response to the Deputy's Parliamentary Question No. 2 of 10 December decisions in respect of many of the recommendations in relation to structural reform will be a matter for decision by Government in due course. Any expenditure reductions arising, including staff savings, will be included in the budget for the sector in future years.
Prior to the report of the McCarthy Group and in recognition of the need to restrict the growth of State bodies and agencies, the Department has devised an Executive Office Model which has provided a streamlined and cost efficient structure for setting up new offices within the Department where it has been necessary to provide new services and programmes. Offices established under this model are structured within the existing framework of the Department, thus avoiding the substantial levels of set up and running costs that would be incurred under traditional systems and structures. In fact, these offices have to use the Departments existing Financial Shared Services, Corporate Services, Human Resource and Information Technology Services, thus freeing up the offices to concentrate on their core functions in a more cost effective way. Executive Offices established in this manner include Cosc, the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit, the Office for Internet Safety, and the Victims of Crime Office.
Rationalisation of other offices has also been undertaken by my Department over the course of the last year. The Irish Film Classification Office has taken over administrative responsibility for the Censorship of Publications Board; the functions of the National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism have been absorbed into the Office of the Minister for Integration. The National Crime Council has been disbanded pending alternative mechanisms being put in place following a review of the arrangements for the development of policy and analysis in respect of crime issues.
The deployment of staffing resources is continually kept under review to ensure that maximum efficiency is derived from the resources available across the Justice Sector. During 2009, the moratorium on recruitment and schemes introduced by the Government have contributed to an overall reduction of over 200 staff between my Department, the Property Registration Authority and the Courts Service, which were the specific focus of staffing reductions in the McCarthy Report.