Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 July 2022
457. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Defence the number of Defence Forces personnel who were paid the specialised instructor's allowance from 2017 to date in 2022, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39017/22]
View answer458. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Defence the amount paid under the specialised instructor allowance from 2017 to date in 2022, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39018/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 457 and 458 together.
To answer the Deputy’s questions, the following table outlines the amount of specialised instructor allowance paid to enlisted personnel in the payroll years from 2017 to date in 2022.
|
Payroll Year |
Value |
Number of Personnel |
|
2017 |
313,184.75 |
111 |
|
2018 |
407,521.43 |
174 |
|
2019 |
389,657.27 |
157 |
|
2020 |
350,860.98 |
134 |
|
2021 |
430,567.39 |
148 |
|
2022 YTD |
243,901.81 |
127 |
With regard to the payment of SIA for officers, the Deputy may be aware that with the agreement of RACO, the Specialised Instructors Allowance for Officers was bought out under the Defence Sector Collective Agreement of the Public Service Agreement 2013-2016 (the Haddington Road Agreement).
While the May 2019 Report of the Public Service Pay Commission on Recruitment and Retention in the Permanent Defence Force made a recommendation regarding Defence Forces allowances, it did not make any recommendation on the re-establishment of any allowances which were abolished under the Haddington Road Agreement. Rather, the Commission recommended that Defence Forces allowances, which were retained under Haddington Road Agreement but reduced above and beyond any reductions made under FEMPI, have their reductions restored. Given that the Specialised Instructors Allowance for Officers was abolished, rather than reduced, it was not encompassed by any recommendation of the Commission.
In 2017 RACO submitted a claim to Conciliation and Arbitration Council of the C&A Scheme seeking reinstatement of the Specialist Instructors Allowance for officers. As the claim was a cost increasing measure, under the terms of the pay agreement of the day - the Public Services Stability Agreement 2018-2020 - the claim was not considered.
There was scope in the context of the current pay agreement - "Building Momentum - A New Public Service Pay Agreement 2021 -2022", to which RACO signed up, to have the matter of the restoration of the Specialist Instructors Allowance considered under the sectoral bargaining element of that fund. RACO members chose not to take that option however, instead deciding to utilise the fund for a general round of pay increases.
RACO has since reinstated its claim for reinstatement of the Allowance, and the matter is currently being processed through the Conciliation and Arbitration scheme for members of the Permanent Defence Force. As discussions in the scheme are confidential to the parties concerned, I am constrained on commenting further, at this juncture.
