Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 22 April 2026
123. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 1691 and 1695 of 14 April 2026, the number of new staff sanctioned for hire in Kildare County Council, Kerry County Council, Fingal County Council and Meath County Council in 2026, and of new hires realised in 2026 to date. [28844/26]
View answerMy 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 number of posts sanctioned but not yet filled is not collected. The relevant information would be available from the local authorities concerned.
The table below details the number of staffing sanction requests for new staff approved by my Department in 2026 (up to 20 April) in Fingal, Kerry, Kildare and Meath County Councils.
|
Local Authority |
No. of sanctions granted for new staff 01/01/2026 to 20/04/2026 |
|
Kildare County Council |
18 |
|
Kerry County Council |
31 |
|
Fingal County Council |
16 |
|
Meath County Council |
6 |
Following the approval of a staffing sanction request by my Department where such is required it is then a matter for the Chief Executive, who is responsible under Section 159 of the Local Government Act 2001 for the staffing and organisational arrangements necessary for carrying out the functions of the local authority for which he or she is responsible, to progress the appointment as appropriate.
