Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 April 2022
636. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will outline all of the secondment arrangements within his Department; the conditions related to such secondments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19872/22]
View answer644. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of persons currently employed in his Department who have been seconded in from the public sector; the number of Departmental officials seconded where the monies are recouped from the body the person is seconded to or where the Department pays for the person with no recoupment from the other organisation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20064/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 636 and 644 together.
My Department currently hosts 13 staff on full time secondments from other public sector organisations, mostly from the Local Authority sector. As the receiving organisation my Department either pays the salaries of these staff directly or recoups their parent organisation for their salary costs. There are no secondments from the private sector into my Department.
7 staff are currently seconded from my Department to other organisations. The salaries of 5 of those staff are recouped to the Department by the receiving organisations.
In the other two cases, one member of staff at the grade of Assistant Principal is seconded to the Department of Foreign Affairs and serves in the Permanent Representation of Ireland to the European Union in Brussels. Their role is to represent my Department across a range of functions pertaining to my Ministerial responsibilities.
The second staff member is a Services Officer, and they are seconded to the secretariat of the Civil Service General Council Staff Panel.
Both of these staff are paid at the appropriate pay scale for their grade. The Department carries the salary cost of these two staff members in line with the long-standing arrangements pertaining to their particular secondments.
While different conditions can apply to individual secondments depending on their particular circumstances my Department is guided by the advice issued to all Government Departments by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in relation to secondments which is available at the following link - hr.per.gov.ie/en/corporate-pages/career/mobility/secondment/.
