The Northern Ireland Government has defended what has been described as the “routine use” of hundreds of temporary promotions to plug staffing gaps.
In the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) alone, 793 temporary promotions have occurred among its 2,791 staff over the past five years.
Spokesperson for Infrastructure with the Opposition Alliance Party, Andrew Muir said the DfI had been struggling with staffing shortages for years.
“The Public Accounts Committee, of which I am a member, is currently considering a report into the capacity and capability of the Civil Service,” Mr Muir said.
“The issues identified by that report clearly apply to the Department for Infrastructure; temporary promotions and use of agency staff are rightly cited in the recent Audit Office report as reflective of the need for transformational change,” he said.
Another Government spokesperson said that temporary promotions were routinely used across the Northern Ireland Public Service.
“They cover for vacant posts where there is a clear business need and no immediate alternative available,” the spokesperson said.
“Temporary promotions are, as their name suggests, temporary arrangements which are only intended to be in place until a permanent appointment can be made,” they said.
Meanwhile, one senior Northern Ireland Public Servant is on her way to a top (and permanent) job with the United Kingdom’s Cabinet Office.
The departure of the Permanent Secretary at the Department of Finance, Sue Gray (pictured) to work in the heart of Whitehall is seen as a key effort by the UK Government to strengthen the Union.
Mrs Gray will become the Cabinet Office’s Second Permanent Secretary, leading on the Union and the constitution.
She had recently applied to become head of the Northern Ireland Public Service, one of three candidates who were all passed over.
Mrs Gray previously worked in the UK Cabinet Office, and served as the Director General (Propriety and Ethics) from 2012-to-2018.
During that time, she gained a reputation as one of the most influential British Public Servants.
Belfast, 11 April 2021
