I propose to take Questions Nos. 235 and 236 together.
At 31 December 2018, there were 277 employees (headcount) in my Department.
Of these, 221 are at the grade of Executive Officer or higher and therefore have sanction to authorise payments, subject to the following limits, as well as other restrictions:
Grade
|
Authorisation Limit
|
Executive Officer or higher
|
€1,000
|
Higher Executive Officer / Administrative Officer or higher
|
€25,000
|
Assistant Principal Officer or higher
|
€100,000
|
Principal Officer or higher
|
€1m
|
Assistant Secretary or higher
|
€10m
|
Secretary General
|
€10m
|
Note: The Secretary General has authorised different authorisation levels for Tusla drawdown and Early Years/Childcare drawdowns.
My Department does not hold comprehensive records on employee qualifications as it cannot compel employees to disclose their qualifications, whether in respect of the organisations mentioned in the Details Supplied or otherwise.
A dedicated Procurement Unit is in place in DCYA. A contracts register of all contracts which have been live at any time since January 2017 to date with a value of more than €20,000 has been set up and the Procurement Unit monitors these contracts relating to approaching expiry dates etc. A central repository of all the corresponding tender documentation is also in place.
Detailed Procurement Policies and Procedures which includes a policy framework and user guidelines are in place. Staff within the Procurement Unit have attended procurement training, including eTenders training, and two Unit members have completed a Certificate in Procurement.
In addition, 49 employees in my Department have received non-certified training in procurement since its establishment in 2011.