Central Bank set to increase staff numbers by 115 by end of year

The Central Bank of Ireland expects to increase its staff numbers by 115 on a net basis by the end of this year to help fill key vacancies in its workforce.

This has emerged after Fianna Fáil’s finance spokesman, Michael McGrath, was told that there were 149 vacancies within the financial regulator at present.

This detail was provided by the Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan, in an answer to a parliamentary question submitted by the Cork TD.

Mr McGrath said the number of staff vacancies raised serious questions about the capacity of the Central Bank to do its job effectively, and to cope with any new financial services firms that might relocate here because of Brexit.

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“After experiencing the failure of regulation in the past, it is shocking to see a 12 per cent vacancy rate in the section directly responsible for regulating credit institutions,” he said.

“There is clearly a major problem in the Central Bank around the issue of attracting and indeed retaining staff. The Government needs to face up this reality and come up with a plan to tackle this issue so that consumers can be properly protected, and the opportunities from Brexit can be fully exploited.”

Mr Noonan told Mr McGrath that at the end of November, the Central Bank had about 1,600 employees, which was below its original year-end plan for 1,695.

Recruiting

“The Central Bank informs me that it is actively recruiting at present, with well over 100 roles advertised,” the Minister said. “Overall, vacancies are spread across functions, with staffing currently approximately 11 per cent below 2016-approved complement in financial regulation, 9 per cent in central banking and 4 per cent in operations.”

In response to questions from The Irish Times about its staffing issue, the Central Bank said: "By the end of this year, the Central Bank will have increased staff numbers by approximately 115, on a net basis, in what we have previously acknowledged is a challenging marketplace.

"The Central Bank Commission has recently approved additional complement for 2017 to circa 1,800, which will be a target net increase of 170 staff."