Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 December 2023
83. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Taoiseach the number of staff in the CSO with climate action expertise; if there are plans to recruit more; and the average cost per WTE and HTE per grade, in tabular form. [55004/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThere are three broad categories of work where the CSO utilises climate action expertise, namely, in statistical roles providing statistics on climate and the environment, in statistical areas linked to climate action like ecosystems, sustainability, agriculture, transport etc. and in corporate support roles delivering accommodation and services.
The CSO has a dedicated division with responsibility for producing a wide range of official statistics on climate, energy and the environment. Details of these statistics may be found on the CSO website, but include statistics on climate, energy, environment, environmental accounts, environmental indicators among others. Given the cross-cutting nature of climate action, the CSO also has other staff working on data and insights which are related to or contribute to climate action like ecosystem services, sustainability, agriculture, transport etc.
CSO Facilities Management is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the buildings and for the climate action and sustainability programme within the CSO. CSO is committed to making progress annually on our use of energy and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In conjunction with OPW and our SEAI partners, Facilities Management develops initiatives to reduce our consumption and run regular communications with all staff through Optimising Power @ Work and our “Reduce Your Use” campaign. Our Staff Engagement & Innovation Committee (SEIC) have a role to engage on climate action with all staff.
CSO will continue to invest in more resources, skills and knowledge as we deliver on out statistical role and our organisation climate action commitments to meet 2030 and 2050 targets.
CSO is actively engaged in training staff on climate change issues; this includes 30 of our SEIC members undertaking a Green Team National Programme provided by the Waterford Institute of Technology(WIT) and developed through the EPA's green enterprise scheme, FM manager completing a Professional Diploma in Climate Action and Sustainability Reporting, and we are currently developing training to ensure all senior management (PO level or equivalent and above) complete a climate action leadership training course in accordance with the Public Sector Climate Action Mandate 2023.
The following table sets out the number of whole time equivalent (WTE) staff with climate action expertise by grade and average salary cost. It should be noted that this table does not include details of staff whose work contributes data and insights on climate action but which is not the main focus of their work.
|
Grade |
Number of staff (FTE)* |
Average grade cost 31/12/2022 (FTE) |
|
Senior Statistician |
1.00 |
€122,594 |
|
Principal |
0.80 |
€118,955 |
|
Statistician |
9.00 |
€82,134 |
|
Assistant Principal |
2.00 |
€88,993 |
|
Higher Executive Officer |
3.70 |
€65,621 |
|
Executive Officer |
2.00 |
€49,943 |
|
Clerical Officer |
1.00 |
€39,727 |
|
Total |
19.5 |
* Number of staff (FTE) -Full Time Equivalent- includes sum of WTE and HTE.
