Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 19 January 2022
97. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the estimated cost in 2022 of doubling the number of full-time inspectors for the Workplace Relations Commission. [1910/22]
View answerThe Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) is an independent, statutory body under the aegis of my Department, established on 1st October 2015 under the Workplace Relations Act 2015. The Commission’s core services include the inspection of employment rights compliance, the provision of information, the processing of employment agency and protection of young persons (employment) licenses and the provision of mediation, conciliation, facilitation, and advisory services.
The WRC is staffed by approximately 200 civil servants from my Department. This number includes a sanction for 60 WRC inspectors. In the main, WRC inspectors rank at Executive Officer (EO) grade with Higher Executive Officers (HEO) grade, acting as Team Managers.
In Budget 2022, an additional €500,000 was allocated to the WRC pay budget to allow for additional inspectors to be hired. Accordingly, the total number of WRC inspectors is expected to increase to 70 over the coming year. The total funding allocation for the WRC in 2022 to €15,696,000.
The full year cost of recruiting an executive officer inspector for the WRC would be approximately €62,092. This is based on the calculation of staff costs as set out in the Public Spending Code. The code sets out that the cost should be based on the midpoint of the salary scale and include employer’s salary related PRSI, imputed pension costs and overheads e.g., ICT equipment, legal costs, travel and subsistence. Using the same methodology, the cost of sixty additional inspectors at EO level would be approximately €3,725,520.
My Department fully supports and continues to work closely with the WRC in monitoring its staffing and budgetary requirements. This includes anticipating future resource requirements to ensure that it is supported and adequately resourced to carry out its important work. It is proposed to review inspector capacity again in the context of the 2023 REV allocation, engaging with the WRC to assess the impact of the 2022 increase and to evaluate if there is a need to further increase this cohort.
