Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 April 2023
134. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of allegations of bullying made by departmental staff against departmental staff in each of the past five years and to date in 2023, in tabular form; and if he will detail what actions are being taken by his Department to investigate the allegations, or if they are being investigated. [17797/23]
View answerThe Department of Foreign Affairs subscribes fully to the Civil Service value that every member of staff has a right to work in an environment free of any form of bullying and that bullying behaviour is totally unacceptable
All complaints or allegations made by members of staff are treated seriously and fairly under the terms of the Civil Service Dignity at Work policy.
It should be noted that the number of civil servants employed in my Department has increased from 1,360 in 2018 to 2,067 on 3rd April last as we roll out the expansion of Ireland's network of Embassies under 'Global Ireland – Ireland’s Global Footprint to 2025’, the Government’s initiative to double the scope and impact of Ireland’s global footprint in the period to 2025.
The number of allegations of bullying managed through the Dignity at Work policy in my Department over the past five years are set out below.
|
Year |
Number of cases |
|
2018 |
1 |
|
2019 |
2 |
|
2020 |
0 |
|
2021 |
2 |
|
2022 |
2 |
|
2023 to date |
3 |
