Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 May 2026
675. Deputy Conor Sheehan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the number of planners who have been reassigned or recruited to ACP from local authorities since January 2024; the measures in place to backfill these critical vacancies at the local level, regarding the transition of An Bord Pleanála to An Coimisiún Pleanála (ACP); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34042/26]
View answerUnder 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. My Department oversees strategic 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 vacancies in specific work areas or the reasons for such vacancies, is not collected and consequently is not available in my Department.
Where vacancies arise for existing posts, the majority of local authorities operate under a delegated sanction whereby they can replace vacancies up to Grade VII and equivalent without recourse to my Department for sanction. Local authorities are required to seek sanction from my Department for posts at Grade VIII and equivalent and higher.
The recruitment and filling of posts in the local government sector is undertaken both by individual local authorities and publicjobs. Following the approval of a staffing sanction request by my Department where such is required or in the case of a vacancy that does not require sanction from my Department, it is a matter for the Chief Executive, under Section 159 of the Local Government Act 2001, to progress the appointment as appropriate.
