Report of the Local Government Efficiency Review Group

6. Local Government Staffing
6.1 Organisational Structures within Local Government
6.1.1 It is vital at all times that staff resources are managed to maximum effect at
local and national level. The Group has set out a range of
recommendations which it is satisfied will lead to better use of the staff
resources of the local government sector. The Croke Park agreement
provides a flexible framework to support implementation. These
developments offer the scope for effecting the better use of staff resources
which the Group details below.
6.1.2 There are a wide range of organisational structures in operation in the local
government sector. This is partly a function of the type of local authority (for
example urban versus rural areas), the scale of the local authority, and the
extent to which local authorities have adopted an area-based approach to
service provision. The organisational role of the manager is underpinned by
the Local Government Act 2001. Section 159 of this Act provides that “the
manager shall, for the purposes of discharging the responsibilities set out
under section 149 make such staffing and organisational arrangements as
may be necessary for the purposes of carrying out the functions of the local
authorities for which he or she is responsible”.
6.1.3 Section 160 of the Act further provides, amongst other things, that “…a local
authority may, from time to time, fix qualifications for any employment…”
The above provisions were seen as necessary to provide the local authority
manager with sufficient autonomy in organisational matters to effectively
manage the local authority.
6.1.4 These provisions are circumscribed by public service pay, conditions and
grading norms, and staffing quotas and controls which are administered by
the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government by
delegation from the Department of Finance.
6.1.5 Much of the data set out in the Tables and Figures in this section has been
derived from a 2010 survey of local authorities.
6.2 Staffing Levels
6.2.1 Local authorities have, since 2003, operated within a staffing quota system
agreed with the Department of Finance and the Department of Environment,
Heritage and Local Government.
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