Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 26 October 2023
168. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform to outline the full extent to date of current recruitment throughout the public sector; the expectation in respect of future recruitment throughout the sector by the end of the current year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47231/23]
View answer171. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform the extent to which he sees recruitment in specific vital areas of the public sector becoming a policy initiative in the future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [47235/23]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 168 and 171 together.
Despite a challenging recruitment market, data shows that staff numbers in the public service have continued to grow over the last number of years. Between the end of 2015 and Q2 of 2023 overall serving numbers in full-time equivalent terms (FTE) increased from about 302,000 to 385,000, a growth of 83,000 FTE or approximately 27%.
Public service staffing is largely managed through a policy of delegated sanction, which has been in place since 2015. Under this delegated sanction framework, Departments are permitted to fill vacancies through recruitment and/or promotion, in grades up to and including Principal Officer Standard or equivalent, subject to remaining within the overall pay bill ceiling. This paybill ceiling forms part of the annual budget agreement.
As the Deputy may be aware, under the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Act 2004, the responsibility for recruitment in each sector of the Public Service is a matter for the relevant Minister. In the case of recruitment to the Civil Service, for which I have policy responsibility, I am informed by the Public Appointments Service (PAS), that between 2022 and 2023, 168 competitions for civil service jobs were advertised, resulting so far in 7,309 assignments. A further 29 more competitions are in the pipeline for this year.
