Fostering Equality, Adapting to Change, and Building a Sustainable Workforce
EQUALITY, DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
Our Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty (‘the Duty’) obligations are the cornerstone of accessible and inclusive public services, policies and work environments and bring a critical focus on equality and human rights.
Our commitment to equality and human rights is focused on those groups addressed by the Duty and covered by the grounds of gender; civil status; family status; age; disability; sexual orientation; race; religion; membership of the Traveller community; and disadvantaged socio-economic status, as well as those at the intersections of these grounds, and individual rights holders under human rights instruments.
FUNDING BASE
The Council must operate within the existing local government funding system and the limits of the financial resources available to it. Despite the easing of inflation levels during 2024, the City Council continues to experience inflationary pressures in procurement, labour costs and works contracts.
The rising costs of services, coupled with little increase to our income base or discretionary funding means that significant additional income must be raised if services are to be maintained. Improved efficiencies and a continuous focus on value for money can assist in making best use of the funding available.
POLICY, LEGISLATION AND SERVICE CHANGE
The City Council has always operated in a dynamic environment, responding to changing government policy, legislation, functions and structures. The City Council’s response to COVID-19, in particular, demonstrated our capacity to quickly adapt both our internal business processes and our essential services to the public.
Since the adoption of the last Corporate Plan in 2020, new legislation and policy such as the Planning and Development Act 2024, the Climate Action Plan 2024 and the Green Public Procurement Strategy and Action Plan 2024-2027 have put greater emphasis on how we address climate change and sustainable development. In line with the National Implementation Plan for Sustainable Development Goals 2022-2024, Dublin City Council has been working to raise awareness and to integrate the SDGs into our policies, programmes, and projects that contribute to Ireland’s broader commitments to achieving the SDGs by 2030.
New national policies such as Better Public Services - Public Service Transformation 2030 Strategy and Connecting Government 2030: Digital and ICT Strategy for Ireland’s Public Service have been introduced. Other key pieces of legislation during the period to which the Council have responded are the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024 and the Official Languages (Amendment) Act 2021.
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
The positive performance of the Dublin economy and the subsequent competitive labour market means that the City Council needs to continually develop its attractiveness as a place to work, ensuring that we can continue to attract and retain the best staff to deliver for the people of Dublin.
Retaining and developing our staff through the measures available to us such as mobility, flexible working options, training, and the huge variety of work where our people can use and develop their talents, is critical to the success of the organisation and the quality of our services.
Strategic workforce planning ensures that the City Council has the right skills, knowledge, capability and staffing levels to meet current and future service needs and that we can respond to our changing operating environment.