Staff levels at local authorities fall 25%

Some county councils have lost a third of their staff since the start of the recession, as figures show staffing levels across local authorities have fallen by almost 25% over the past five years.

Figures released by the Department of Environment figures reveal more than 9,000 local authority workers have departed the public service in that time.

A total of 37,243 people were employed by councils five years ago but that number had fallen to 9,018 by last March — a reduction of 24.2% nationally. But the reduction in staff has varied significantly across councils.

Galway County Council has seen its staff levels drop by 34% — with 399 employees leaving since 2008.

Other councils who have lost in excess of 30% of their workforce include Donegal, Kildare, and Waterford City.

Some 879 staff have left Cork County Council — a 29.6% reduction. However, Cork City Council has seen its number drop by a more modest 263 employees — a drop of 17.2%. Louth County Council saw the smallest reduction in staffing levels at 15.7%.

Other councils which witnessed a reduction in employee numbers of less than 20% include Tipperary South, Clare, Mayo, Wexford, and Monaghan.

Environment Minister Phil Hogan said the decrease in staff numbers was asa result of the moratorium on public sector recruitment introduced in 2009.

Although city and county managers are responsible for staffing arrangements within individual councils, Mr Hogan said his department had the power of sanction for implementing the moratorium in relation to such bodies.

“My department works closely with local authority management to ensure that the reduction in staff numbers is managed so that the appropriate service level is maintained within budgetary and staffing constraints,” said Mr Hogan.

He said the reduction in staff among the 33 city and county councils has resulted in estimated payroll savings of some €300m. He said his department and local authorities had carried out workforce planning on a sector-wide basis to focus on achieving the greatest possible savings while maintaining an appropriate level of service to the public.

He claimed such work was being done in the context of the new municipal district structures, the establishment of Irish Water and shared service initiatives.

Mr Hogan recently announced a major reform of local election area boundaries which will see the abolition of all town and borough councils, although the number of elected members of city and county councils will increase.

It is estimated the changes will achieve further annual savings of €3m in the cost of running local authorities.