Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 19 May 2026
602. 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 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025 and of new hires realised in those years. [37139/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraStaffing sanction requests for posts in local authorities submitted to my Department are considered in light of Government priorities and other requirements, including if the post is identified in the Strategic Work Force Plan. Consideration is also given to the overall staffing levels of the local authority and its ability to meet the ongoing costs involved.
The following table details the number of staffing sanction requests approved by my Department for Fingal, Kerry, Kildare and Meath County Councils in the period 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2025.
The recruitment and filling of posts in the local authority sector is undertaken both by individual local authorities and publicjobs depending on the grade and tenure of the post. 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.
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 number of staff newly recruited is not collected. The relevant information would be available from the local authorities concerned.
Table: Number of posts approved in the years 2022 to 2025
|
Local Authority |
2022 |
2023 |
2024 |
2025 |
|
|
No. of Posts approved |
No. of Posts approved |
No. of Posts approved |
No. of Posts approved |
|
Fingal |
90 |
46 |
47 |
58 |
|
Kerry |
19 |
11 |
24 |
25 |
|
Kildare |
61 |
60 |
86 |
48 |
|
Meath |
97 |
55 |
59 |
46 |
