Local Authorities

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 26 May 2021

Wednesday, 26 May 2021

Questions (134)

Denis Naughten

Question:

134. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the gender breakdown of the senior officials responsible for planning in all local authorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28566/21]

Written answers

Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage

Under section 159 of the Local Government Act 2001, each Chief Executive is responsible for staffing and organization arrangements necessary for carrying out the functions of the local authorities for which he or she is responsible. In this regard, the assignment of local authority staff to a particular function, such as planning, is a matter for the Chief Executive.

My Department is responsible for workforce planning for the local government sector, including monitoring of local government sector employment levels. To this end, my Department gathers quarterly data on staff numbers in local authorities; however, the data gathered does not provide details in terms of the number and gender of officers with responsibility for planning employed nationally by local authorities. Accordingly, the information requested is not available in my Department.