Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 January 2024
434. Deputy Paul Donnelly asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of WTE vacancies by job title at Health and Safety Authority as of 4 January 2024; the estimated full year cost of filling each of those vacancies; and when he expects these vacancies be filled, in tabular form. [1132/24]
View answerFollowing the allocation of additional funding, the HSA undertook an organisational review to ensure that the future organisational structures, resources and ways of working would be fit for purpose to meet its broad mandates.
This gave rise to the overall number of sanctioned positions now at 317 across both administrative and professional and technical grades. The recruitment of additional resources is being managed on a phased basis and following extensive recruitment, over 190 appointments have been made since 2021.
The staff of the Health and Safety Authority is made up of those in administration and inspector grades. The inspector grades comprise of Grade I (senior inspectors) as well as Grade II and Grade III inspectors. Inspectors operate across all HSA mandates which include occupational health and safety, chemicals, accreditation, and market surveillance. Administration grades follow the civil service structure of Clerical Officer, Executive Officer, Higher Executive Officer, Assistant Principal and Principal Officer.
As of 31st December 2023, the HSA has 55 WTE positions vacant, 38 of which relate to the position of Grade III inspector. There are also 27 pending appointments, whereby candidates who were successful following a recruitment campaign are under consideration for appointment to vacant positions across various grades. The necessary pre-clearance processes are now under way, after which contracts will be issued to successful candidates.
The number of vacant posts by grade are set out in the following table.
|
Grade |
Total Vacancies |
Scheduled to be filled |
|
Programme Manager |
1 |
Appointment pending: January 2024 |
|
Inspector Grade I |
1 |
Competition launching January 2024 |
|
Inspector Grade II |
3 |
Competitions launching February 2024 |
|
Inspector Grade III |
38 |
Next cohort (19) due to onboard Q1 2024 Next competition planned for Q2 2024 |
|
Higher Executive Officer |
2 |
One appointment pending: January 2024 One competition launching: February 2024 |
|
Executive Officer |
4 |
Appointments pending |
|
Clerical Officer |
6 |
Appointments pending |
The cost per annum is dependent on each individual grade, as outlined as follows.
|
Grade |
Salary |
PRSI |
Onboarding Cost |
Total Cost |
|
Programme Manager |
€93,007 |
€10,277 |
€15,000 |
€118,284 |
|
Inspector Grade I |
€79,836 |
€8,822 |
€15,000 |
€103,658 |
|
Inspector Grade II |
€69,518 |
€7,682 |
€15,000 |
€92,200 |
|
Inspector Grade III |
€36,086 |
€3,988 |
€15,000 |
€55,074 |
|
Higher Executive Officer |
€54,764 |
€6,051 |
€15,000 |
€75,815 |
|
Executive Officer |
€34,562 |
€3,819 |
€15,000 |
€53,381 |
|
Clerical Officer |
€27,882 |
€3,081 |
€15,000 |
€45,963 |
Assumptions;
Figures based on starting point of the relevant grade for all positions.
Provision included for Employer PRSI calculated at 11.05%
Recruitment and on-boarding cost of €15k for positions based on batch recruitment.
