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Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement Data

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 21 February 2019

Thursday, 21 February 2019

Questions (115)

Billy Kelleher

Question:

115. Deputy Billy Kelleher asked the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation the number of staff in the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement, ODCE, in each of the years 2010 to 2018 and to date in 2019, by account, administrative staff, legal personnel and other staff, in tabular form; the amount of funding allocated to the ODCE in each of the years 2010 to 2018; the allocation for 2019; the amount expended in each of the years 2010 to 2018; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8936/19]

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Written answers

The number of staff in the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE) in respect of the years 2010 to 2018 and to date in 2019 are set out in the following table.

The funding allocation and expenditure for the ODCE in respect of the years 2010 to 2018 are set out in the following table.

Year

2010 €m

2011 €m

2012  €m

2013  €m

2014  €m

2015  €m

2016  €m

2017  €m

2018  €m

Funding allocation

6.086

5.967

5.697

5.330

4.672

5.091

5.015

4.895

5.057

Expenditure at year end

3.699

3.397

3.436

3.123

3.013

3.073

2.727

3.014

3.701

The distribution of the funding allocations across my Department’s Vote, including that of the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement, is determined through the annual Revised Estimates Volume (REV) process.

A significant element of the non-pay allocation provided to the Office provides for possible legal costs. These costs, as well as their timing, are difficult to forecast as the Office has little or no control over the timing of when the cases will be determined. It is also the case that the Office cannot be sure of the outcome of cases in terms of costs orders and it cannot anticipate the scale of costs that other parties may seek.  Whilst it is entirely prudent that provision continue to be made to meet legal costs in the Office’s subhead, the corollary of the uncertainty in relation to the amount, timing etc. of such costs can lead to underspends. This has been the case for the last number of years where the Office’s legal costs have been significantly less than anticipated thus giving rise to underspends.

There have also been underspends in the pay allocation.  Over recent years, a number of senior-level vacancies have arisen within the Office through a combination of retirement, promotion and transfer to other parts of the public service.  Whilst the Office, along with a number of other State organisations, faces challenges in the recruitment of highly qualified professional staff, particularly in the current buoyant labour market, I am satisfied that it has sufficient pay monies.  At present, there are no requests for additional staffing from the Office.

An additional €1m was provided for the ODCE in 2019 to reflect the likely costs associated with the transition of the ODCE into a stand-alone Agency.  A funding allocation of €6.057m has been provided for the ODCE for 2019.

Staffing Resources2010 – 2011 *

Grade

2010

2011

Director

1

1

Corporate Compliance Manager

1

1

Principal Officer

2

2

Legal Adviser (PO Equivalent)

3

3

Principal Solicitor (PO Equivalent)

1

1

Assistant Principal

4

4

Solicitor (AP Equivalent)

2

2

Accountant Grade I (AP Equivalent)

2

2

Accountant Grade III (HEO Equivalent)

0

0

Higher Executive Officer/Systems Analyst

9.7

8.7

Executive Officer

6.7

6.7

Clerical Officer

7.3

7.3

Temporary Legal Secretary (CO Equiv.)

1

1

Detective Inspector

1

1

Detective Sergeant

2

2

Detective Garda

7

7

TOTALS

50.7

49.7

* Staffing figures are given as at 31 December each year to 2018

The Office was re-configured in 2012

Staffing Resources 2012 - 2018*

Grade

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

February 2019

Director

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

1

Heads of Function

4

4

4

4

3

2

1

1

Legal Adviser (PO Equivalent)

2

2

2

2

1

1

-

-

Accountant Grade I

2

1

1

0

-

-

-

-

Accountant Grade III

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Solicitor (AP Equivalent)

2

2

2

1

1

1

1

1

Assistant Principal

4

4

3

3

3

3

4

4

Higher Executive Officer

7.6

8

7

7

7

5.8

6.8

6.8

Executive Officer

6.8

6.8

6

5.8

4.8

5.5

5.5

5.5

Clerical Officer

6.5

6.5

6.5

6.8

7.7

5.7

7.8

7.8

Temp. Legal Secretary (CO Equiv.)

1

1

1

1

0

0

0

0

Forensic Accountant

-

-

-

-

5

5

7

7

Enforcement Portfolio Manager

-

-

-

-

-

1

2

2

Digital Forensics Specialist

­-

-

-

-

-

1

1

1

Enforcement Lawyer

-

-

-

-

-

-

2

2

Det. Inspector (Head of Function)

1

1

1

1

0

1

1

1

Detective Sergeant

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

Detective Garda

4.5

2.5

2.5

2

3

4

4

4

Garda

1

1

1

1

0

0

0

0

Superintendent

0.1

0.1

0

0

0

0

0

0

TOTALS

45.5

42.9

40

37.6

38.5

39

46.1

46.1

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