Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 2 Oct 2003

Vol. 571 No. 3

Written Answers. - Departmental Staff.

Enda Kenny

Ceist:

280 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs the number of staff employed by his Department; the bodies within its aegis which are covered by the benchmarking agreement; the projected costs in 2004 of paying this award; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21653/03]

Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (Éamon Ó Cuív)

The core staff number approved for my Department for 2003 is 255. For administrative purposes, this includes eight staff working in the Office of the Commissioners for Charitable Donations and Bequests for Ireland.

The bodies under the aegis of, or reporting to, my Department to which the benchmarking agreement is applicable in whole or in part are Údarás na Gaeltachta; The Western Development Commission; Bord na Leabhar Gaeilge; the National Advisory Committee for Drugs – drugs strategy team; Foras na Gaeilge; Waterways Ireland and ADM. The cost for ADM relates only to those staff, with a salary equivalent to a point or points on a civil servant's grade scale, who are working on programmes funded by my Department, together with corporate staff relating pro-rata to the implementation of these programmes. The projected extra cost of paying the salary increases agreed under the benchmarking agreement in the year 2004 is €1,268,700.