Vol. 432 No. 1
210 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Health the total number of hours of overtime worked, in the most recent 12 month period for which figures are available, by persons employed by his Department or by public bodies under the aegis of his Department; the proportion this represents of total man hours worked; and the impact the proposed EC Directive on working hours will have on reducing this level of overtime.
The total number of hours of overtime worked by persons employed in my Department during 1992 was 5,800. This represents less than 1 per cent of the total man hours worked.
In so far as bodies under the aegis of my Department are concerned that is, health boards, voluntary hospitals, mental handicap agencies and so on, information on the number of hours of overtime worked is not readily available.
It will not be possible to assess the precise impact of the proposed Directive on working time generally, including the level of overtime, until the Directive has been finalised and is implemented by national legislation.
