A Government report has recommended small permanent staff and large temporary staff increases in the Department of Education and Science's examinations branch in Athlone.
The branch is currently in the middle of a work-to-rule and overtime ban over staff shortages. On Tuesday, Labour's education spokesman, Mr Brian O'Shea, demanded immediate action from the Minister for Education to avoid "serious disruption" to forthcoming oral and practical Leaving and Junior Cert exams.
The confidential report, prepared by the Department of Finance in consultation with the Department of Education's organisation unit, compares the examinations branch in Athlone unfavourably with its equivalent in Scotland, which deals with similar student numbers with considerably more staff.
The Scottish board employs 220 people compared with the equivalent of 149 in Athlone, assuming 40 per cent of the work of the Department's inspectors involves exams.
The report points to the very high dependence on overtime by the examinations branch. Between January and September 1996, about £430,000 was paid for 42,000 hours worked in overtime. Executive and staff officers were paid an average of £4,800 each, and higher executive officers received £7,000 on average.
However, one executive/staff officer was paid £10,768 and two others £8,580 and £7,753. One higher executive officer was paid £11,075 in overtime and three others received £8,316, £7,458 and £7,404.
The report suggests that such extensive overtime had come to be regarded by most staff as a normal part of their earnings. It recommends the appointment of about 10 new permanent staff and considerable numbers of extra temporary staff in the peak exam preparation and marking season between May and October.
Mr William Hannigan, of the Public Service Executive Union, said last night that the report "acknowledges what our members have been saying for the last number of years, which is that the examinations branch has been seriously under-resourced".
The Department of Education is known to be taking the report's recommendations on increased staffing very seriously. However, it insists that it is already acting on other recommendations to streamline the exam service.
These include high-tech methods to deal with exam fees, papers and scripts; publishing early drafts of exam papers on a "desktop" basis within the Department; and curtailing "totting" errors in the compilation of exam results.