Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

My Department currently has 58 social welfare branch offices at various locations in the State. Each branch office is operated and managed under a contract for services by a branch manager who is required to act as an agent for the Department in the area served by the office. Branch office managers operate on a contract for service and are entirely independent contractors.

The Department wishes to ensure that the services provided by the Department’s Intreo centres and by branch offices are aligned so that all customers nationwide are provided with broadly similar services. On foot of this, officials from my Department have been engaged in ongoing discussions with the Branch Managers' Association, a representative group for individual branch managers, on the Department’s proposals for a new service delivery model and remuneration model. The main elements of the service delivery model relate to accommodation; information provision; payments processing, including full use of all departmental IT systems; and support for activation and control activities.

Most recently, talks with the BMA included facilitated discussions under the chairmanship of Mr. Kevin Duffy, a former chairman of the Labour Court. The facilitation process chaired by Mr. Duffy provides a forum where the concerns of the branch managers and the Department can be discussed. The Department cannot, however, negotiate with the BMA as this could potentially be in breach of competition legislation. The Department, however, can take account of the views presented by the BMA. This is why the Department has instigated the facilitation process.

The remuneration proposals take into account recommendations from Mr. Duffy to both parties in December 2017. These recommendations were accepted by the Department and by the BMA representatives. Under the proposals, the amounts on offer to individual branch managers would be fixed for a period of three years commencing on 1 January 2018. This represents a positive shift from the traditional payment method, where payment was based on claim load, to a model based on delivery of an agreed service level. This is particularly significant in an environment where, thankfully, the live register is expected to continue to decline. The amounts available under the new remuneration model represent an annualised increase of approximately 28% when compared to the payments made in 2017. I can tell the Deputy categorically that we have not been wanting in providing a very fair remuneration package to our branch managers who are providing a valuable service, as the Deputy has said, to people nationwide.

My officials consider that the enhanced services envisaged for branch offices can be achieved under the current contract arrangements with branch managers and that there is no requirement to conclude new contracts. If the Department is to change the terms of the contracts then because of their value, the new contracts will be subject to an open competition in line with current procurement law.

The Department must ensure, however, that it moves forward in a legally compliant manner. Therefore, the Department is examining each contract in conjunction with the Chief State Solicitor's office to confirm we can provide the enhanced remuneration package without breaching current procurement law. Once this process has been completed, the Department will write to each branch manager individually confirming, where possible, the individual amount payable to that person. Where a branch manager confirms his or her acceptance of the proposal and commits to supporting the required changes, payment of the new pay model will be put in place with the effective date, as I said, of 1 January 2018. While the BMA withdrew from discussions with my officials on 19 February, I have invited it and its members to contact Mr. Duffy and ask him to reconvene the facilitation process to discuss the proposed service delivery model. If the BMA is willing to enter discussions on this basis, the Department will attend for the purposes of listening to and taking account of any and all views the BMA wishes to present to us.

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