Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 January 2013
173. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Taoiseach if he will provide details of the current budget and total number of approved staff positions including contract staff, consultants or interns, of the Law Reform Commission; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2363/13]
View answer174. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Taoiseach the current budget allocated to the legislation directory and the number of approved staff positions including contract staff, consultants or interns, that are allocated to work in relation to the legislation directory in the Law Reform Commission; if he will provide details of the number at each grade and the remuneration at each grade and details of any current vacancies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2364/13]
View answer175. Deputy Kevin Humphreys asked the Taoiseach the current budget allocated to restatement of Statutes and production of revised Acts and the number of approved staff positions including contract staff, consultants or interns, that are allocated to work in connection with restatement of Statutes or revised Acts in the Law Reform Commission; if he will provide details of the number at each grade and the remuneration at each grade and details of any current vacancies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2365/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 173 to 175, inclusive, together.
The Commission has sanction for a total of 19 staff. The 19 positions are: the Full-time Commissioner, the Director of Research, the Project Manager and Assistant Project Manager, the Head of Administration, four administrative staff, one librarian, one library assistant and eight legal researchers. The Commission also offers placements from time to time for up to six interns. The Commission has recently advertised new internships and received applications which are under consideration.
The Commission also has an arrangement with third-level institutions for short-term internships which take place over the summer months. The total budget allocation for the Law Reform Commission for 2013 as advised by the Department of Public Expenditure & Reform is €2,114,000.
Part of the work of the Commission is to make legislation in its current state easily accessible online to the public, as amended rather than as enacted, and provide related information (the Access to Legislation project). The Commission provides online access to Revised Acts from 2006 onwards and selected others, and electronically-searchable indexes of amendments to legislation and other related information to facilitate ascertaining the current state of amended legislation. The indexes include the Legislation Directory of primary and secondary legislation and a Classified List of Acts in force. (A Classified List of in-force Statutory Instruments is in course of preparation.) The areas of the Commission’s work referred to in the Deputy’s second two questions (i.e. restatement of Statutes, production of revised Acts and work on the Legislation Directory) form part of this Access to Legislation project.
The staff of the Access to Legislation Project consist of one Project Manager (Principal Officer standard scale), one Assistant Project Manager (Assistant Principal standard scale) and two legal researchers (single point salary scale €28,789 per annum). From time to time the Commission also offers placements of up to two interns to work on this project. The position of Assistant Project Manager is currently vacant and in the process of being filled. The total pay cost (including Employer PRSI) for the staff working on the Access to Legislation Project in 2013 is estimated to be €250,330. The specialist XML authoring system needed for production of the Legislation Directory and revised Acts in conformity with existing standards for the repository of legislation costs in the region of €23,400 per annum in technical support and licensing fees. The staff working on the Access to Legislation Project (as with all staff of the Commission) are supported by the Commission’s existing HR, IT, Finance, Corporate Services, secretarial support services and other facilities.
