Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 20 Nov 2003

Vol. 575 No. 1

Written Answers. - Prison Officers' Remuneration.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh

Question:

204 Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if the public assertion of the Prison Officers Association, that it was never presented with the option of a ?10,300 increase in salary in return for working 360 extra hours a year, is correct. [27902/03]

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. McDowell)

The assertion cited by the Deputy is inaccurate and misleading. The POA represents approximately 3,200 staff in all grades in the Prison Service up to, and including, Deputy Governor. Prison officers up to, and including, chief officer level, were offered an annual hours attendance system that would, if accepted, replace the current overtime system. The offer envisaged seven day liability staff in a number of grades represented by the POA contracting to work 360 hours a year, over and above the normal number of hours worked in the year based on a 39 hour working week. The payment offered was 1.8 times the relevant hourly basic rate of each officer for all 360 hours. Hourly rates vary considerably depending on an officer's grade, salary and point on the salary scale.

It is not strictly correct to say that prison officers were all offered a €10,300 per annum increase in salary in return for contracting to work 360 hours over the norm. Basic grade staff on full PRSI would be in a position to earn payments in respect of additional contracted hours ranging from approximately €8,000 at the minimum of the scale up to approximately €11,000 per annum at the upper end of the scale, provided they fulfilled their obligations under the scheme. The figure of €10,300 mentioned by the Deputy relates to approximate payments in respect of additional contracted hours for the majority of basic grade staff who are on the upper end of the reduced PRSI scale. The age and length of service profile of the organisation means that many of the currently serving staff in the basic prison officer grade are at or close to the top of their pay scales. The figure rises considerably when you take into account the hundreds of prison staff the POA also represents in supervisory grades.

Under these proposals the total earnings, including allowances, of a basic grade prison officer at the minimum point of the scale is approximately €42,500 per annum. While a prison officer on the maximum long service increment point would earn approximately €58,000, excluding increases that may be applied under the benchmarking and Sustaining Progress programmes on 1 January 2004.

I have already made it clear the I cannot entertain the prison officers' claim for an increase in basic pay under the terms of the Sustaining Progress and benchmarking programmes. They were offered a guaranteed payment for the full 360 hours at a premium rate of 1.8, subject to the terms of the scheme to be agreed. It is clear that earnings under this approach are more predictable than those for overtime.