Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 27 March 2025
288. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he is aware that the current wait time for an appointment with a Dublin City Council housing advisor is seven weeks; whether he believes this wait time is acceptable; and if he will outline steps he is taking to decrease these wait times. [14750/25]
View answer289. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the staffing levels in the Housing and Community Department of Dublin City Council, in each of the past five years, in tabular form; whether he believes the current staffing level is sufficient; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14751/25]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 288 and 289 together.
Under section 159 of the Local Government act 2001, each Chief Executive is responsible for the staffing and organisational arrangements necessary for carrying out the functions of the local authority for which he/she is responsible. Local authorities are entirely independent corporate entities having full responsibility under law for the performance of their functions.
My Department oversees workforce planning for the local government sector, including the monitoring of local government sector employment levels. To this end, my Department gathers aggregate quarterly data on staff numbers in each local authority on a whole time equivalent basis. However, granular data, in terms of the detailed breakdown of the numbers and grades of staff allocated to specific work areas within local authorities is not collected and consequently is not available in my Department. The relevant information would be available from Dublin City Council.
Housing for All commits to strengthen the capacity of local authorities to initiate, design, plan, develop and manage housing projects. In 2021, the Housing Delivery Coordination Office (HDCO) engaged with each local authority to identify their additional staff requirements to deliver the social housing targets set out in Housing for All. Following this engagement, my Department approved funding for 8 additional posts in Dublin City Council to support social housing capital delivery. In addition, a further 12.5 posts dedicated to delivering affordable housing are being funded by my Department in Dublin City Council.
