asked the Minister for Fisheries and Forestry the amount paid to the acting manager of the Western Regional Fisheries Board for 1983-84 by way of salary and expenses.
Ceisteanna-Questions. Oral Answers. - Western Regional Fisheries Board.
18.
No payment has yet been made by way of salary to the acting manager of the Western Regional Fisheries Board for his service with that board during the period April 1983 to May 1984. The matter is still under consideration.
Civil Service rates of travelling and subsistence were paid to the acting manager in respect of expenses incurred by him while on the official business of the Western Regional Board.
In relation to the salaries paid to these managers, would the Minister accept that they appear rather exorbitant in view of the fact that a recent advertisement for a manager for the North Western Regional Fisheries Board quoted a figure of £17,000 plus while in the same paper on that day there was an advertisement for a national schools inspector carrying a salary of £1,000 less? Would the Minister think that the salaries paid can be justified in these cases?
The responsibility of managers of regional fisheries boards are fairly onerous, as the Deputy will be aware. We are talking here about a very important natural amenity or resource. I am not in a position to comment on the comparability of salaries between schools inspectors and regional managers.
What administrative qualifications are called for because they would be the only qualifications required as against those in the case of a schools inspector?
Can the Minister give the House some information on the onerous duties of the regional fisheries managers?
They are responsible for the protection and development of fisheries within their designated areas. They are responsible for administrative work in relation to staff, which in this case amounts to 31 and for whom the manager is responsible. There are various duties attaching to the development and protection of fisheries in the various designated areas.
Would the Minister agree——
In the opinion of the Chair Question Time is getting completely out of hand. This is purely a statistical question about the salary of a certain man. We are inclined now to get into a whole discussion of what work he does and so on, which is very much widening the scope of the question.
Will the acting manager of the Western Regional Fisheries Board be paid additional moneys for the period April 1983 to May 1984 which the Minister mentioned in his reply, bearing in mind that he is already paid as the acting manager of the North Western Regional Fisheries Board? In view of what the Minister has said about the duties being onerous would it not seem strange that one man can do this job in two regional fishery districts, the western and north western, when in fact the amount of time devoted to the western district at present seems to be about one day a week only?
The question of additional salary is a matter for negotiation and is being considered at present.
19.
asked the Minister for Fisheries and Forestry if the Western Regional Fisheries Board has agreed to pay disturbance money to its staff; and if so, to whom and the amount paid out.
The answer to the first part is "No" and the second part does not therefore arise.