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Departmental Staff

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 December 2020

Tuesday, 8 December 2020

Questions (389)

Darren O'Rourke

Question:

389. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Social Protection the number of medical assessors within her Department in 2019 and to date in 2020; the number of vacant medical assessors currently within her Department; and the estimated full year cost of clearing the vacancies in tabular form. [41431/20]

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Written answers

My Department, like all Government Departments and agencies, is required to operate within a staff ceiling figure and a commensurate administrative staffing budget.

The staffing needs for all areas within the Department are continuously reviewed, taking account of workloads, management priorities and the ongoing need to respond to new demands across a wide range of services. This is to ensure that the best use is made of available resources with a view to providing an efficient service to those who rely on the schemes operated by the Department.

The table below provides the number of Medical Assessors in my Department at year end 2019 and as at the end of October 2020. The below figures include the Chief Medical Assessor and the Deputy Chief Medical Assessor. The figure for full time equivalents (FTE) takes account of staff that avail of work-share options.

-

FTE

Staff Count

Dec 2019

30.10

33

Oct 2020

30.30

33

The Department plans to fill a small number of Medical Assessor positions in early 2021. The current salary scale for Medical Assessors is

€81,055.00  €86,048.00   €89,072.00  €92,738.00  €96,377.00   €100,044.00  €103,136.00(NMAX)                €106,343.00 (LSI1)    €109,547.00 (LSI2).

I trust this clarifies the position. 

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