Enterprise Ireland told the Government it was missing out on highly qualified staff because it was taking so long to get official sign-off to hire them.
A memo to the Department of Enterprise said they were also facing difficulties moving employees around to respond to specific challenges like Brexit or to support Global Ireland project. It said a process that required every single hire to be approved by the department took too long even though the contracts involved were usually standard templates.
The memo from last autumn said the system was leading to “significant delays” and creating a “significant administrative burden” that added no value for the taxpayer.
“This is leading to loss of identified candidates in a tight talent market and poses a risk in terms of constraining our ability to deliver a full service to clients and meet our strategic goals,” said the briefing document, while the inability to be flexible in transferring staff between offices was also compromised even though it involved no change to Enterprise Ireland’s headcount.
The agency said that process was too lengthy and affected their ability to “respond to business and market needs”.
The document added: “[The Department of Enterprise’s] current requirement to review and approve individual local overseas contracts when the contracts are standard templates, which have been legally reviewed and appropriate due diligence has been completed by Enterprise Ireland, adds a significant time to hire in a tight talent market, leading to multiple instances of our losing candidates.”
It cited multiple cases where they were in discussions with candidates who had decided to go elsewhere due to delays. While Enterprise Ireland was waiting for approval, potential staff were receiving “immediate competitive offers” from other companies or organisations and taking those jobs instead.
It said this was leading to “increased resourcing gaps and prolonged vacancy rates”.
Enterprise Ireland referred specifically to two cases from last year, one involving a candidate in Johannesburg who had agreed to come on board on 4 April.
However, while they were still waiting for sign-off on the contract, the person withdrew on 19 May and took up a different job. A senior market adviser had also been offered a job in Copenhagen on 29 August 2022. However, approval to fill the role did not come until October 10. Just two days earlier, the person had informed Enterprise Ireland that they no longer wanted to be considered for the post.
Enterprise Ireland also complained about inconsistencies in a system whereby some staff are paid what are known as ‘hardship allowances’ depending on the city in which they are based. It is a similar system to that used by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) with an allowance paid based on distance from Ireland and perceived challenges of living in cities with the likes of pollution or security issues.
Enterprise Ireland said their staff in certain cities were suffering because of lower rates applied by the DFA where other financial supports were provided to diplomatic personnel.
In emails, Enterprise Ireland said they were not being critical of the department but just felt that a better system could be of benefit to all.
Asked about the records, Enterprise Ireland said they had nothing further to add.
