Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 November 2020
795. Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of expert staff involved in issuing pesticides control service, PCS, numbers; if these staff have been working from home since the first Covid-19 lockdown earlier in 2020; the number based in-office or working from home on a given day; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34574/20]
View answerPrior to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, a team of four staff routinely serviced the processing of biocidal product registration applications in addition to carrying out a range of other duties within the Pesticide Controls Division.
Since the arrival of the covid-19 pandemic, a number of other staff within Pesticide Registration and Controls Divisions, approximating to 1.5 whole time staff equivalents, has been assisting with processing biocidal product registration applications. A further 2 staff from across the wider Laboratory area have also assisted with processing biocidal product registration applications on a part time basis in recent months.
This week, further additional staff are being temporarily allocated to the work area. In line with government guidelines, all staff involved in processing applications have been provided with the necessary resources to be able to work form home and process biocide registration applications in an efficient manner. Staff attend their usual workplace as required to carry out essential duties that cannot be carried out at home.
