Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 January 2011
267 Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the number of public sector places made vacant by maternity or other leave that have not been filled since the implementation of the embargo on recruitment and overtime; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4260/11]
Amharc ar fhreagraStaff members availing of maternity leave at my Department are not replaced as a matter of routine during the period of their absence. Normal practice is to reallocate work among remaining staff for the duration of such absences. There have been 32.2 (WTE) instances of maternity leave since the implementation of the embargo on recruitment on the 27th March 2009. Similar arrangements apply in relation to other types of leave such as annual and sick leave. As such, there are no vacancies created by such leave.
The information relating to the agencies that come under the aegis of my Department is currently being collated and will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as it is available. The Health Service Executive has advised that it does not collate information in relation to these vacancies.
268 Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children the proportion between office administrators and frontline staff in the public sector; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4270/11]
Amharc ar fhreagraOne of the objectives of the Employment Control Framework 2011-2014 is to reduce the numbers of management/administrative staff and non-frontline staff employed in the health sector, while simultaneously increasing the numbers employed in certain frontline grades including Medical Consultants, Physiotherapists, Social Workers and Speech and Language Therapists.
The numbers employed in the public health service, by grade category, as at November 2011 (latest data) are as follows:
|
Grade Category |
Number Employed |
|
Medical/Dental |
8,125 |
|
Nursing |
36,544 |
|
Health & Social Care Professionals |
16,316 |
|
Management/Administrative |
17,354 |
|
General Support Staff |
11,470 |
|
Other Patient & Client Care |
18,350 |
|
Total |
108,159 |
However, it is important to note that the category of ‘Management/Administrative' includes Consultant's Secretaries, Out-Patient Departmental Personnel, Medical Records Personnel, Telephonists and other staff who are engaged in front-line duties together with staff in the following categories Payroll, Human Resource Management (including training), Service Managers, IT Staff, General Management Support and Legislative and Information requirements. Therefore, it is not possible to derive the proportion of office administrators compared to frontline staff.
In addition, on 1 November 2010, it was announced that the Government had decided to approve a voluntary early retirement (VER) scheme and a voluntary redundancy (VR) scheme for certain categories of staff in the public health service. The purpose of the schemes was to achieve a permanent reduction in the numbers employed in the public health sector from 2011 onwards and to facilitate health service reform.
The VER and VR schemes were open to management and administrative staff and general support staff but priority was given to management and administrative grades. The schemes were not targeted at those providing front-line services.
