Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 June 2022
719. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Justice the estimated cost of hiring an additional 10% staff to the Irish Prison Service per annum, including all associated costs such as uniforms et cetera. [34067/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am advised by the Director General of the Irish Prison Service that the recruitment of an additional 10% of staff to the Service would amount to approximately 300 Recruit Prison Officers (RPOs) per annum.
The estimated full year cost of basic pay for 300 new RPOs, as per the entry point of the most recent pay scale of 1 February 2022, would be of the order of €11.3m. A breakdown of this cost is outlined in Table 1.
The vast majority of RPOs are assigned to the 360 Hours Additional Hours (AH) band, and the cost of same per RPO is set out in Table 2. The Deputy may wish to note that premium payments are an average figure and the level of such payments payable to any officer will depend on individual deployment and work patterns
Based on the average AH and premium payments outlined in the table for a single RPO, the total estimated additional costs in terms of AH and Premium Payment for 300 RPOs would be in the region of €6.1.m per annum. This is outlined in Table 3.
The combined cost of pay, AH and allowances for 300 RPOs over a full year is in the region of €17.4m. All figures quoted are inclusive of employer's PRSI, which amounts to approximately 10% of the overall cost.
In addition to the above pay costs, there are a number of ancillary non pay costs associated with the recruitment of a single RPO, such as training, uniform costs, subsistence and accommodation costs, etc. These costs are set out in Table 4.
Therefore the total overall costs, both pay and non-pay, of recruiting 300 RPO’s to the Service over a full year based on current pay rates, conditions and assumptions outlined above would be of the order of €19.4m. Pay costs would increase in subsequent years in line with incremental progression.
The recruitment of RPO's by the Service has been ongoing since 2017, and has regard to such factors as service needs and exit levels from the organisation. In 2021, 133 RPO's were recruited and in 2022, it is expected that a total of 138 Officers will be recruited.
Table 1. Basic Salary cost RPO.
|
Basic Salary Cost - RPOs |
Point 1 |
|
Salary |
€31,337 |
|
Operational - 8% of Basic salary |
€2,507 |
|
ER PRSI |
€3,740 |
|
1 RPO |
€37,584 |
|
300 RPOs |
€11,275,115 |
Table 2 AH and Premium Payments - RPO Per Year .
|
AH & Premium Payments - For 1 RPO Per Year |
|
|
AH Band 3 -360 Hours per annum |
€9,491.71 |
|
Premium Payments (e.g. Sunday, Night Work etc) |
€8,869.58 |
|
ER PRSI |
€2,028.92 |
Table 3 - Cost for 300 RPOs Per Year.
|
For 300 RPOs Per Year |
|
|
AH Band 3 |
€2,847,513 |
|
Premium Payments |
€2,660,874 |
|
ER PRSI |
€608,677 |
Table 4 Training Costs
|
Training (Completion of Higher Certificate in Custodial Care – HCCC – mandatory for all RPOs). |
€4,188.00 |
|
Provision of Uniform. |
€642.03 |
|
Subsistence, Food, Accommodation for duration of training period. |
€1,815.00 |
|
Total current Cost per RPO |
€6,645.03 |
|
Total current Cost 300 RPO |
€1,993,509.00 |
