As the Deputy will be aware, in my role as Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, I have overarching responsibility for workforce planning and recruitment to the Civil Service. In Budget 2015, it was announced that there will be a targeted programme of recruitment into the Civil Service to address service needs and a shortfall in key skills commencing in late 2014 and continuing. The Deputy may wish to be aware that a number of open competitions have already taken place or are in process of taking for recruitment to the Civil Service.
I understand from the Public Appointments Service, who are the independent recruiter for the civil service, that since then in the region of 3,800 civil servants, excluding temporary assignments, have been assigned to Government departments and offices across all general service grades from open competitions.
These increases would of course be offset by people leaving the Civil Service including retirements.
Recruitment plans for the public service more generally are a matter, in the first instance, for the Minister with responsibility for each of the relevant sectors of the public service.