Local Authority Staff

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 April 2014

Tuesday, 1 April 2014

Questions (376)

James Bannon

Question:

376. Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the numbers of water service staff who will be retained by county councils following the establishment of Irish Water and if their salaries will be paid by the respective councils or the new company, Irish Water; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15228/14]

Written answers

Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government

The Water Services Act 2013 provided for the establishment of Irish Water as a subsidiary of Bord Gáis Éireann to be formed and registered under the Companies Act.

A fundamental underpinning of the water reform programme is to ensure that the skills and experience built up over many years in local authorities are put to best use for the long-term benefit of the customer and that there is no negative impact on service to customers during the transition. The Water Services (No. 2) Act 2013 transferred statutory responsibility for water services to Irish Water and provided for local authorities to act as agents for Irish Water, with this relationship being expressed through Service Level Agreements. The agreements signed by each authority and Irish Water were tailored to the individual authority circumstances, reflecting numbers of local authority staff covered and the operational budgets appropriate to the cost of providing water services within each authority area.

Staff in local authorities conducting work under these arrangements from 1 January 2014 remain employees of local authorities. As such, no staff transferred from local authorities or from other public sector positions to Irish Water. Any employees of Irish Water who came from the local authority sector or from the public service sector immediately prior to taking up a post with Irish Water applied for advertised posts and were recruited through a competitive process.  

The total number of local authority employees (whole time equivalents) working under the Service Level Agreement arrangements on 1 January 2014 is set out in the following table:

Local Authority	Total FTE
Carlow	57.6
Clare	144.7
Cork City	101.2
Cork County	392.0
Kerry	229.4
Kilkenny	82.7
Limerick City	33.0
Limerick County	124.5
North Tipperary	88.5
South Tipperary	101.7
Waterford City	42.9
Waterford County	76.5
Wexford	85.0
Total Southern	1,559.7
Cavan	58.3
Donegal	198.3
Galway City	58.0
Galway County	154.8
Leitrim	44.4
Mayo	191.4
Monaghan	56.2
Roscommon	93.3
Sligo	62.8
Total North West	917.5
Dublin City	674.00
Dún Laoghaire Rathdown	99.25
Fingal	238.47
Kildare	180.31
Laois	83.11
Longford	53.05
Louth	68.15
Meath	117.85
Offaly	53.30
South Dublin	129.30
Westmeath	58.68
Wicklow	86.93
Total East Midlands	1,842.40
OVERALL TOTAL	4,319.6

This headcount will be reviewed each year as part of the preparation and approval of the following year's Annual Service Plan. While this number will reduce over time, the actual headcount requirement is intrinsically linked to the levels of investment within the sector in automation, rationalisation and infrastructure and operational upgrades. The establishment of Irish Water will lead to improved efficiency and effectiveness of water services delivery, with consequent reductions in staffing over time.