Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 26 Oct 2000

Vol. 525 No. 1

Written Answers. - Departmental Staff.

Michael Noonan

Ceist:

26 Mr. Noonan asked the Minister for Finance the number of vacancies in the offices of the Revenue Commissioners; the grades at which these vacancies occur; if the work of the commissioners is being inhibited by staff shortages; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23633/00]

Minister for Finance (Mr. McCreevy)

The staffing vacancies in the Revenue Commissioners as at 30 June 2000, in the context of a staffing complement of 6,098 at that time, totalled 196. The number of vacancies in each grade are as follows:

Assistant Principal1 Higher Executive Officer27 Executive Officer17 Staff Officer32.5 Clerical Officer (Programmer)1 Clerical Officer (Operator)9 Services Officer18.5 Services Attendant1 Visually Impaired Telephonist1 3rd Assistant Solicitor1 Legal Clerk2.5 Inspector Higher Grade2.5 Inspector14 Higher Tax Officer25.5 Tax Officer39.5 Accountants/Financial Advisors3

The vast majority of the vacancies in Revenue are filled by internal promotion arrangements and any difficulties which arise in recruiting replacements at the entry grades have, with the co-operation of the Civil Service Commission, been suc cessfully resolved to date. In the coming weeks, competitions for posts as inspector of taxes and higher tax officer in Revenue will be advertised by the Revenue Commissioners in conjunction with the Civil Service Commission.

Apart from the vacancies referred to above, I have authorised, in response to a request from the Revenue Commissioners, an increase of over 350 posts in Revenue's staffing complement in recognition of the growth in volumes of business and other requirements. The majority of the additional staff will be in the taxes grades, and details of that part of the package are awaiting the agreement of the relevant union. In the meantime, some 100 additional clerical staff have been recruited as part of the implementation of this package.

The Revenue Commissioners keep their staffing levels under review and it is intended to monitor the impact of the enhanced staffing complement once it is fully in place.