Vol. 547 No. 4
202 Mr. Timmins asked the Minister for Tourism, Sport and Recreation if his Department operates term time; the number of persons who applied for this in 2000, 2001 and 2002; the number of persons who were accepted and availed themselves of the scheme; if persons were refused; if so, the reason therefor; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3898/02]
Details regarding the term time working scheme (Circular 37/2000) were circulated to all Departments by the Department of Finance in December, 2000. The scheme was implemented for the first time in 2001.
The position in relation to the years 2001 and 2002 is as follows: In 2001, 2 officers applied for and were granted ten weeks leave under the term time working scheme. Four officers applied under the scheme in respect of the year 2002 and have been granted ten weeks leave, which they propose to take during the school holiday period.
The term time working scheme is part of family friendly policy consistent with the achievement of my Department's strategic objectives as reflected in its recently published integrated human resource strategy.
