Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 December 2012
473. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the date on which he intends to review the salary grading structure of the public service as it affects his Department as committed to in the Programme for Government. [56389/12]
View answerI wish to inform the Deputy that while the Prison Service as an organisation forms part of the general Civil Service, its grade structure has developed over time in response to the demands peculiar to the role of the Prison Service as one of the security arms of the State operating within the unique prison working environment. This has given rise to a grade structure not replicated elsewhere within the Civil Service. As part of a joint task review process, management and staff representatives within the Prison Service are working together to implement the provisions of the Public Service Agreement 2010-2014. This ongoing review process is addressing every aspect of the operation of the prison system, including, where appropriate, the grade structure. In conjunction with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform a number of changes to grades within the Prison Service have been (or are in the process of being) implemented.
A number of prisons have been merged to form campuses with a view to achieving efficiencies and a reduction of staff numbers. Campuses have been established in West Dublin, Mountjoy and Portlaoise (incorporating eight prisons). As part of the review of the senior management structure the grade of Governor 1 within the prison campuses has been discontinued, and the five Governor 1 posts have been replaced by three Campus Governors. In addition, the grade of Deputy Governor has been discontinued, and no further appointments will be made to this grade. The grade of Chief Officer 2 Detail is being discontinued, and no further appointments will be made to this grade.
As part of the review of other grades within the Prison Service, the grades of Clerk 1 and Clerk 2 have been discontinued, and the staff are being redeployed to other areas within the Service where their experience and skills can be used to best advantage. This redeployment is being made possible by the introduction of Prison Administration and Support Officers to carry out the clerical duties within prisons at a substantially reduced cost.
In addition, discussions are at an advanced stage with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform regarding the assimilation of some allowances into basic pay to remove anomalies in the remuneration of certain work training grades.
The joint task review process will continue to examine all aspects of the grading structure in order to ensure that it is fit for purpose and responsive to the needs of the Prison Service in the context of the Public Service Agreement 2010-2014.
In relation to Irish Prison Service Headquarters, it is intended to reduce the number of Directors in Headquarters from its current number complement of six to four under the lifetime of the Irish Prison Service 3 year Strategic Plan 2012 - 2015.
Finally, the Deputy may wish to note that in the case of the of the new Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, when it comes into operation, one of its first tasks will be to examine the staffing structure including grading in the new organisation.
