Covid-19: Stormont officials 'struggling to cope' amid staff vacancies

Some Stormont officials are struggling to cope due to "significant" pressure to deliver Covid-19 support schemes, a top civil servant has warned.

Mike Brennan, from the Department for the Economy, said staff vacancies are currently at about 25%.

He said that had led to officials being overworked while trying to get support packages up and running.

One senior official had to be admitted to hospital on Tuesday night because of pressures, he added.

"That's not unique - I can give you other incidences where staff are under pressure to deliver because the public and political expectation is there," Mr Brennan said.

"There needs to be a recognition that these guys are doing their best as quickly and professionally as possible, and the vacancy rate is not helping."

On Wednesday, Mr Brennan told Stormont's Economy Committee that across the Northern Ireland Civil Service there are about 4,500 vacancies within the workforce at present.

He put some of the delays in recruitment down to competition processes being postponed due to the pandemic.

Mr Brennan, who is the department's permanent secretary, also addressed accusations that the department has been slow to develop financial support schemes.

"They are having to deliver, at pace, grant schemes they didn't have any expertise in doing," he said.

"I think what has been achieved, in terms of getting out that level of spend, is a marvellous achievement.

"There was always a recognition that there would be some degree of error but the minute an error is identified officials get hammered."

He told the committee that the department faced difficulty in the next financial year to deliver routine services while managing economic effects of the pandemic and Brexit.