Written Answers. - Parliamentary Debates - Houses of the Oireachtas

[Deputy Phil Hogan.]
Questions— 14 February 2012. Written Answers
Expenditure and Reform for implementation of the moratorium in relation to local authorities.
Any local authority exceptions to the moratorium require sanction from my Department.
Under section 159 of the Local Government Act 2001, each County and City Manager is
responsible for staffing and organisational arrangements necessary for carrying out the functions
of the local authorities for which he or she is responsible. In this regard, it is a matter for
County and City Managers, in the first instance, to ensure that the moratorium is implemented
while the appropriate service levels are maintained.
The reduction of staff in local authorities is a net figure, as given the nature of the front line
services provided such as fire and emergency services, critical road and water services, beach
supervision in summer months and other temporary seasonal services, some sanctions for
exceptions to the moratorium need to be, and are, regularly approved. In this regard, my
Department has processed some 2,600 such requests since 2009.
In considering sanction requests public safety, maintaining key front line services and economic
issues are given precedence as is the requirement to avoid increases in overall staffing
levels. Information in relation to sanction requests under consideration in my Department is
set out in Table 4.
Table 1
Local Authority No. of Staff (WTE) at December 2011
Cork City 1,336.00
Dublin City 6,072.35
Galway City 438.34
Limerick City 465.14
Waterford City 367.09
Carlow 285.41
Cavan 416.30
Clare 785.50
Cork 2,184.11
Donegal 959.14
Dun Laoghaire 1,063.60
Fingal 1,391.90
Galway 811.61
Kerry 1,165.77
Kildare 880.90
Kilkenny 529.09
Laois 368.88
Leitrim 279.13
Limerick 656.65
Longford 299.94
Louth 652.64
Mayo 1,061.50
Meath 640.64
Monaghan 404.69
Offaly 399.00
Roscommon 461.07
Sligo 488.74
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