Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 June 2018
46. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Taoiseach and Minister for Defence his plans to ensure that members of the Defence Forces are in a position to avail of the protections of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 in view of the recent High Court litigation on the matter. [27735/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraThis question relates to a previous question on the Working Time Directive and the court judgment from last week. What action will the Minister of State take? Will he waste more taxpayers' money defending what the courts have already decided is indefensible?
I previously informed the House that a Government decision on 18 November 2016 approved the drafting of the heads of Bill to amend the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997. This will remove the blanket exclusion of An Garda Síochána and members of the Defence Forces from its scope. It will be subject to the application of the appropriate exclusions or derogations permitted by EU Directive No. 2003/88/EC.
Work is under way in the Departments of Defence and Employment Affairs and Social Protection on this decision. The Department of Defence and the Defence Forces have undertaken significant work in examining the nature of the duties of the Defence Forces and how the Working Time Directive can be applied to members of the Defence Forces. I will amend the Defence Force regulations, as required, to facilitate this process.
I recently signed an amendment to Defence Forces regulation A11 dealing with leave. This amendment increases to four working weeks from 19 days the amount of carry-over leave allowed to members of the Permanent Defence Force in circumstances where the member could not take annual leave as a result of being on certified sick leave, adoptive leave or maternity leave.
My Department will also engage, through the conciliation and arbitration process, with the Defence Forces representative associations to discuss the application of the provisions of the Working Time Directive to the Defence Forces. However, this can be constrained if litigation is being pursued. Litigation taken by a member of the Permanent Defence Force in respect of the applicability of certain elements of the Working Time Directive to the Defence Forces was settled recently in the High Court having regard to the specific circumstances of that case. Further litigation on the Working Time Directive as it relates to the Defence Forces is pending.
For these reasons it would not be appropriate to comment further.
I congratulate PDFORRA, its general secretary, Gerard Guinan, and others who supported the case that was taken recently. Both PDFORRA and RACO have made estimates of the number of annual leave days lost in 2016. PDFORRA said its members lost up to 37,000 days of annual leave. RACO said its members lost nearly ten annual leave days in the same year. Will retrospective payment or recognition of the days lost require a supplementary budget? Has the Minister of State made the Minister for Finance aware that, based on the findings of the court case, there is a need for a supplementary budget to address the outstanding days leave that have been lost? What action will the Minister of State take? When will the defence regulations the Minister of State signed or will sign take effect?
The case before the High Court on 14 June was settled on consent of all the parties in the proceedings in respect of one specific aspect of an individual's claim in so far as it related to the carry-over of her annual leave. There was no court ruling made on the wider issue of the claim given the settlement reached by parties. The facts of the case were not opened to the court. Decisions to change the legislative part of the working time directive were not made on foot of this court case. It has been under way in the Departments of Employment Affairs and Social Protection and Defence for quite some time. Work is being undertaken. The Department and the Defence Forces are working together on this. My Department has met officials from the representative associations recently. They will continue with their meetings. We will conclude this as soon as possible. It is a priority for me and my Department and the Defence Forces to bring this to a conclusion as soon as possible.
While the Minister of State says the change to the Working Time Directive and the regulations were not a consequence of the court case, the basis of the court case that was settled recently arose in 2013. The Department was well aware of it and the 11 subsequent cases that are still ongoing. They have a bearing on it. I am asking the Minister of State if at all possible to address the other potential court cases - there are 36,000 annual leave days unaccounted for in this way - with a supplementary budget or some other mechanisms that will address it once and for all rather than having it hanging over us again next year.
As I previously stated, I want the deliberations to continue between my Department and the representative associations. What I said was the legislative process was not embarked upon on foot of the decision made in the court case. It has been ongoing since 2016. It is not just about the Defence Forces; it also involves members of An Garda Síochána.
The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection works with both Departments on this issue.
