The State's corporate watchdog will have to wait their turn to get the extra staff it needs, the Taoiseach told the Dáil today.
Mr Ahern was commenting on a statement by the Director of Corporate Enforcement Paul Appleby who said he was forced to drop cases of wrongdoing against some executives because he needs at least 20 more employees.
The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment
today said it would make four extra staff available shortly and at least four more by the end of the year.
Mr Ahern said that Mr Appleby will have to "wait his turn" for the extra resources he requires.
Speaking during Leaders' Questions, Mr Ahern said: "He has 36 staff at present and he will be getting more.
"The reason he's not getting all the staffing is that we made a priority in that department to create new labour inspectors.
"It's just a matter of priorities. It's not that his work is not considered important."
But Labour's Ruairi Quinn accused the Government of lacking the political will to ensure the highest possible standards of enforcement in the corporate sector.
Mr Quinn said the Taoiseach's claim that the Government had been unable to agree to the request for additional staff, because the priority had been to appoint more labour inspectors as agreed in Towards 2016, simply does not stand up to scrutiny.
"Mr Appleby's request for additional resources predates any discussion about the appointment of additional labour inspectors," he said.
The Office of Corporate Enforcement was established in 2001 to tackle a culture of non-compliance with company laws following damaging Tribunal disclosures and banking scandals.
By mid-2005, the office had secured 130 convictions for company law offences and had pursued up to 400 company directors through the High Court for dishonest or irresponsible behaviour.
Mr Appleby said that only two of his staff can analyse data held on computers and this delayed his work.
The senior official is also seeking more than 20 additional staff, including six extra gardaí, to cope with a growing case load. Mr Appleby is believed to have been corresponding with Government on the issue over the past two years.
PA