Parliamentary Question: Prison Staff

15th October 2003

115. Ms Burton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the position regarding his proposals for the ending of overtime by prison officers; if it is intended to reopen negotiations with the IPOA, following the recent breakdown in talks; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23362/03]

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. McDowell): I regard the current overtime costs in the Irish Prison Service, which are running at an estimated €63 million to €64 million per annum, as entirely unsustainable.

I refer the Deputy to my reply to Parliamentary Question No. 192 of 9 October 2003 concerning my proposals for the ending of the current open-ended prison overtime system and the position regarding the protracted negotiations in this respect with the Irish Prison Officers' Association.

In that response, I indicated that I am actively pursuing the application of more efficient staffing arrangements, particularly those which involve reducing overtime. A proposal for change is currently with the staff side for ballot. The proposal involves significant organisational change and revised working and attendance arrangements for prison staff. It is aimed at replacing overtime costs by adopting a more efficient annual hours attendance system.

The Deputy will appreciate that it would not be appropriate for me to comment on the issue of negotiations with the staff side pending the outcome of this ballot. Whether the staff vote for or against this proposal, however, I envisage that further talks will be necessary as a matter of extreme urgency. I will be asking the Irish Prison Service to complete such talks without delay so that expenditure in 2004 can be contained within the allocation made.
The Irish Prison Service proposal to eliminate overtime holds out the prospect of substantial savings annually, not alone in budgetary terms, but also in terms of hours worked by prison staff. I am keen to secure staff agreement for the measures necessary to produce these savings. In my previous response, I outlined that, in the event that agreement is not forthcoming, I will have no option but to introduce a range of short and long-term measures to permanently reduce prison service expenditure. While I am hopeful that agreement can still be reached, my officials have recently informed staff representatives that plans will be refined and action will follow, if by end October, an agreed way forward is not clearly in prospect.