Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 8 May 2001

Vol. 535 No. 4

Written Answers - Departmental Staff.

Ruairí Quinn

Ceist:

167 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Finance the number, grade and professional-technical description of established positions in his Department; the number of such positions which are currently filled in an acting capacity; the number of such positions which are vacant; the number of such positions which are vacant for more than one year; the steps which are being taken by his Department to fill these vacant positions; if a Civil Service competition is required; if the existing panel can be utilised; when it is expected to fill these vacant positions; if the inability to maintain a full complement of established positions is delaying the implementation of the national development plan; if the existence of these vacancies has been reported to the committee of the Cabinet charged with overseeing the implementation of the national development plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13042/01]

Minister for Finance (Mr. McCreevy)

I understand that the Deputy is inquiring about professional-technical grades only. At present there are eight such established positions in my Department. Below is a table outlining the numbers and professional description of these posts.

Professional/Technical Description	Number of Posts
Chief Medical Officer	1
Principal Quantity Surveyor	1
Occupational Health Nurse	1
Teachers	4
Inspector of Taxes	1
Total	8

Of the above posts, none is currently being filled in an acting capacity. At present there is only one vacancy, that of a teacher. This post has been vacant for approximately eight months and is currently being filled on a temporary basis. A competition run by the Civil Service Commission is required to fill this post on a full time basis. The Department is currently examining the terms and conditions of the post with a view to arranging for the competition to be held.

It should be noted by the Deputy that none of the above posts has any impact on the implementation of the national development plan.