29. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if the gaps in specialist expertise across the civil service and wider public service, including in policy development and evaluation, economics, engineering, procurement, digital and data, and major project delivery have been assessed; and the steps he will take to recruit, develop and retain those skills. [74071/26]

As part of their workforce planning and recruitment activities, civil and public service organisations are expected to identify current and future skills requirements and put in place appropriate measures to address gaps. This includes recruitment, learning and development, succession planning, talent management and other workforce measures.

In line with objectives of the Better Public Services Transformation 2030 Strategy, my Department has taken steps to accelerate initiatives across workforce skills and capabilities requirements. The vision of the Strategy is to deliver inclusive, high quality and integrated public services that meet the needs and improve the lives of the people of Ireland, framed around the three pillars of Digital and Innovation at Scale, Workforce and Organisation of the future, and Evidence-Informed Policy and Services Designed for and with Our Public.

The development of the Institute of Public Administration (IPA) as a Centre of Excellence for learning and development in the Public Service is a flagship initiative. The IPA works in collaboration with my Department to ensure learning and development is aligned to Government priorities and skills requirements. A new learning pathways framework is in development, with the aim of supporting public service organisations to better align recruitment and skills development with an evolving IPA portfolio, including in policy, finance, project and programme delivery, local government and housing, and innovation and design.

My Department is supporting the IPA to invest in a new Learning Experience Platform, due to launch in 2027, which will provide the digital learning ecosystem to support new pathways, through high?quality, accessible learning delivered via scalable digital learning approaches. Furthermore, a new IPA Digital Academy will build workforce digital, data and artificial intelligence capability across the Public Service.

Where recruitment needs are identified, organisations may engage publicjobs, the centralised recruiter for the public service, to run specialist recruitment campaigns on their behalf or, where recruitment licence has been granted, conduct their own recruitment competitions in accordance with relevant recruitment policies and procedures.

My department continues to support the development and retention of specialist expertise across the civil service through a range of measures, including targeted recruitment campaigns, the expansion of apprenticeship programmes, professional development opportunities, and guidance aimed at strengthening workforce planning capability across organisations.

Key workforce development initiatives undertaken by my Department aimed at recruiting and developing specialisms across our workforce include the Procuring for our Future: National Public Procurement Strategy 2026-2030, which aims to advance procurement professionalisation by defining competency requirements, assessing capability, and establishing skills development pathways.

The Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) continues to support the development of the ICT profession across organisations, including centrally supported recruitment efforts in networks and cybersecurity, ICT infrastructure, and software development, as well as apprenticeships.

Established in 2012, the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service (IGEES) is the cross-government network of economists and policy analysts operating within the civil service. The work undertaken by IGEES has played an important role in upskilling efforts, knowledge sharing activities, and strengthening policy analysis.

Furthermore, my Department’s responsibility for Civil Service Organisational Capability Reviews (OCRs), provides a structured methodology to support an organisation’s capability in planning for future workforce needs.