599. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the number of additional staff appointed in her Department and agencies under her remit in 2019; the estimated cost of hiring the additional staff, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46701/19]

The information requested by the Deputy is detailed in the following table.

I am informed that my Department, Waterways Ireland, the National Museum of Ireland and the National Gallery of Ireland all recruited a number of seasonal staff in 2019.  As this is an annual occurrence to give additional cover for busy periods in public-facing sections such as the National Parks in my Department and does not give rise to a year-on-year increase in payroll, seasonal staff are not accounted for in the above figures.