Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 16 Dec 1998

Vol. 498 No. 5

Written Answers. - Prison Staff.

Jim Higgins

Question:

196 Mr. Higgins (Mayo) asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the amount of overtime paid to date in 1998 to prison officers; the amounts paid to the top ten recipients of overtime to date; the overtime rate payable per hour; and the number of hours overtime worked in each individual case by each of the ten. [28093/98]

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. O'Donoghue)

The amount of overtime paid this year, up to 30 November, 1998, to prison officers amounts to £30,362,000. Details of the amounts paid to the top ten recipients of overtime to date in 1998 and the number of hours overtime in each case are as follows:

Institution	Grade	Amount £
Mountjoy	Prison Officer	44,110.60
Mountjoy	Prison Officer	41,300.86
Portlaoise	Prison Officer	40,791.88
Portlaoise	Trades Officer	40,336.95
Mountjoy	Prison Officer	37,297.35
Mountjoy	Prison Officer	36,805.33
Mountjoy	Chief Officer	35,935.03
Portlaoise	Prison Officer	34,438.04
Wheatfield	Prison Officer	34,302.53
Portlaoise	Assistant Chief Officer	33,959.04

There is no set hourly rate for overtime. Overtime is linked to the pay of the officer involved; so the higher an officer is on his scale or in grade, the higher the hourly amount payable. The rate payable also varies in respect of the accumulated hours per week, namely, the first three hours overtime per week are paid at the rate of time and a quarter, the next five hours at time and a half and the remainder at double time. There are also special rates payable in respect of Sunday and public holiday overtime. Overall, the average amount paid per hour, in the first half of 1998, was approximately £19.

It would not be possible, without expending a disproportionate amount of staff time, to ascertain exactly the extra hours worked by the officers above. However, the level of overtime earned by the top officer above equates to approximately 36 basic hours extra per week. That level of extra attendance is, however, not sustainable. Currently, the whole issue of overtime is actively being addressed, through a range of measures, by prisons management in conjunction with the governors with particular emphasis on high individual earnings.