I propose to take Questions Nos. 231 and 232 together.
The number of employees in the Department at 1st January 2019 is 557. A number of staff are qualified members of various professional bodies where Continuous Professional Development (CPD) is a requirement of their role. There is currently no CPD requirement for procurement. Details of the professional associations/institutes, identified by the Deputy, where staff membership is supported by the Department, are set out in Table 1. In the absence of a central register of staff qualifications the Department does not currently have information on the number of staff who are professionally qualified via the Institute of Public Administration.
The procurement of goods and services (where requirements are identified) by the Department is devolved to Divisions who manage the process directly in line with Office of Government Procurement (OGP) Guidelines and Frameworks. Where it is a requirement of their role, employees from Higher Executive Officer and above are authorised to approve payments in respect of the procurement of goods and services.
TABLE 1
Organisation
|
Number of staff
|
Chartered Accountants Ireland
|
2
|
Institute of Certified Public Accountants
|
1
|