Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate that Members have accepted that this section is quite technical and that it attempts to ensure everybody is protected.

Everybody has a legal contract of employment and all income is pensionable. There are issues relating to the performance model and for that reason I have stated publicly that the issue must and will be dealt with quickly. It cannot remain an ongoing issue. We will obviously have to look at some retrospection, but I do not believe this should cover a long period.

In response to Deputy Cowen, I do not intend to bring in legislation although that could be proposed. Everybody has a contract of employment and these contracts have been negotiated through the unions. Therefore, the best way of dealing with the issue is to negotiate further and introduce whatever model is required for the future.

In regard to those staff who have transferred from local authorities, while I have some figures on the numbers that transferred, I do not have figures on the number of secondments. I understand the number is quite small, but will get the figures for the Deputy and try to get them to her as quickly as possible. On those who have transferred from various platforms or organisations, including local authorities and the local government management agency, their pension entitlements depend on what status they transferred on. If, for example, somebody transferred his or her fund, that pension will be protected and Irish Water will continue with the pension for that person. Therefore, there will be two funds in respect of that person - defined benefits - and the person will receive a pension based on that.

However, there is a differentiation in regard to people who, for want of a better phrase, were "financially retired" once they transferred. This may have been for various reasons. For example, people may have started working earlier and reached 50+ and then moved across to Irish Water. If they were "financially retired", in other words had chosen to leave or finish up, they obviously start off in Irish Water on a different pension scheme.

On the issue of bonuses, I wish to make it clear that what was negotiated in regard to payment and the model used was negotiated in a bona fide way. We must accept this model is not unique to Irish Water, but came about from how these issues are dealt with in other organisations. However, I accept the public has concerns and issues in this regard. These concerns relate to the fact that a percentage of a person's pay relates to the person's performance and performance rating. This is not a model I would have favoured if I had been starting from scratch. That said, I must deal with the issue and the public's concerns.

I have stated clearly the board must deal with this issue as its first priority and I believe an agreement will be negotiated.

I have spoken about this to the management of Irish Water and to the chairperson of the board and I made my intentions clear. I have also spoken about this issue to the union representative. I would rather that this happened as quickly as possible and that they sat down and negotiated whatever changes are needed and whatever model needs to be put into place to ensure all workers are protected and everyone is happy with the model and is paid a wage commensurate with their experience and position. It is a little unfortunate and disconcerting for many of the individuals.

The Irish Water workers I have met are fantastic people. Everyone will have their opinion on executives and their performance and so on. I understand that and I have heard commentary from Members, which I appreciate, but there are people working for Irish Water who go out every day and do a fantastic day's work. Great credit is due to them for the work they do and we should acknowledge that. It is not all about the commentary on bonuses and the issues that have been raised about managers and so on. Many people working in Irish Water's head office earn modest salaries and they are doing excellent work to set up the largest utility in the history of the State. They have progressed that well, given it is unique.

The workers on the ground dealing with the issues we have discussed in the House and who are planning for the future sometimes do not work in an acceptable environment. The way in which some of them have been treated is unacceptable. I am not talking only about people who work for the many different companies that won tenders and are contracted to install meters. It is disgraceful and outrageous to think that workers could be locked in a van for ten hours or more and that they could feel they could not leave the van for a long period. That is no way for people to be treated and every Member will accept that. Let us imagine a meter installer being followed home and assaulted. Everyone present would condemn that. At the end of the day, they are workers doing their work for an honest day's wage. The notion that they could be treated in this fashion is unacceptable. I could fill the House with stories about how they have increasingly suffered over the past number of months, although in recent times the problems may have dissipated as common-sense has prevailed given the coverage many decent people have seen about their treatment.

Everyone can have their issues, concerns and disputes about Irish Water but the company is engaged in a number of fantastic projects around the country, which are necessary. Irish Water staff are ensuring this work is done, for example, to remove the boil water notices in County Roscommon, to provide better services, particularly in the Dublin conurbation, and to make sure plants stay alive when at times that is marginal if they do not get in to do the work. They are ensuring people have a water service every day and night. Sometimes the manner in which they are treated is unacceptable.

This is about not only those doing the manual work or those doing the analysis, engineering work and so on, it is also about the workers who at a corporate level are working to deliver a service. They are doing their best as well. I have said out straight that lessons needed to be learned, particularly in the context of customer service. That is why the new telephone line is in place.

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