asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries if he is aware that land project supervisors, who were established in 1959 as a result of their success in a competitive examination open to all land project supervisors and other grades, were compelled to mark time and thereby lost a number of increments while unsuccessful candidates, who were allowed their annual increments and had reached their maximum salary in the meantime, were established this year and granted the same pension rights as those established in 1959; and if, in view of the fact that this arrangement is not conducive to hard work and devotion to duty, he will arrange to have the increments paid to those affected by the marking time regulation.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - Land Project Supervisors.
9.
The "mark time" arrangement referred to was one of the conditions which applied in 1959 to the grant of establishment status from such competitions generally in agreement with the staff side under the Conciliation and Arbitration machinery for the Civil Service.
The conditions which at present govern the salary and pension rights of established officers were also settled in agreement with the staff side under the Conciliation and Arbitration machinery.
10.
asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries if he is aware of the discrimination by the land project division of his Department until July, 1966 against land project supervisors who are not attached to district offices, in that they were compelled to provide office accommodation for the Department out of their own meagre resources since the inception of the scheme while others have been supplied with office accommodation at State expense; if it was a condition of their employment to provide office accommodation at their own expense; if not, if he will arrange to have the expense refunded to these supervisors; if so, if he will seek to have those supervisors who had office accommodation wrongly provided at State expense, refund the expenses incurred by the State; and if he will give the reason for not providing office accommodation for all supervisors.
11.
asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries if he regards as equitable the allowance of £1 per week offered since July 1966 to supervisors in the land project division of his Department who are obliged to provide office accommodation in their own homes; if he is aware that, because of the huge volume of stationery associated with the duties of this post, it is necessary for the supervisors to use exclusively for office work the biggest room in their homes and to provide office furniture, fuel and light; if he is aware that the inadequate allowance of £1 per week will not be paid without the applicant's superior officer inspecting the office accommodation; and if, as the condition infringes the right of the applicant's wife to maintain the privacy of her home at all times, he will arrange that the volume and quality of the applicant's output will be the best criterion by which his claim will be judged.
With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 10 and 11 together.
The question of allowances for officers who provide office accommodation in their own homes is a matter for discussion under the Conciliation and Arbitration machinery for the Civil Service.
The amounts of the allowances at present payable to certain officers of my Department and the conditions under which these are paid have been fixed by agreement under the machinery referred to.
12.
asked the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries if he will grant a car allowance from a country headquarters to supervisors in the land project section of his Department who have to attend the district office for office duties and who are compelled to use their own cars because of the absence of a suitable bus service; and if a refund will be made where only a bus fare was allowed for, even though a car was used.
Such cases are dealt with in accordance with relevant Civil Service regulations and procedures. Payment of a car allowance is not appropriate in all cases.