Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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1. To ask the Taoiseach the number of part time workers employed in his Department [14640/13]

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Currently, 29 members of staff in my Department are work-sharing. This represents 14% of my Department's total staff. In considering requests to participate in the Civil Service work-sharing scheme, my Department considers its operating requirements and endeavours to tailor workloads to allow for flexible attendance patterns that accommodate the business needs of my Department and the personal responsibilities or choices of those who wish to participate in it.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Taoiseach for his response. He indicated that a total of 29 members of staff in his Department are working part-time, but how many of them are female? In raising this matter, I am particularly conscious of the need to continue as far as possible to maintain family-friendly work practices. How will the Haddington Road agreement impact, if at all, on people who are working part-time within the Department of the Taoiseach? Will those who are working part-time work even less, or will the options for flexitime or short-time working be eliminated altogether? It seems that in some quarters of the public service, management is saying that it is unable to manage the challenges of work-sharing patterns. We would all be loath to see the pattern of work-sharing being withdrawn. How does the Government view the issue of work-sharing and how family-friendly policies are reflected at the very top of the public service, including the Department of the Taoiseach?

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The Government welcomes the Haddington Road proposals. Obviously, I am very grateful to the Labour Relations Commission for the work its staff have put into this, particularly the chief executive officer. Each union now has draft regulations for its own rules and procedures. The Government has published legislation which we must enact in any case to implement pay reductions and other changes. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform has estimated that €300 million can be saved by the end of this year and €1 billion by the end of 2015.

As regards the 29 departmental staff I mentioned, all of those work-sharing are female. They range from principal officer level down to clerical officers. The areas where people are work-sharing include the economic, international and Northern Ireland sections, as well as European affairs and co-ordination, protocol, corporate affairs, internal audit and the Office of the Tánaiste.

If a person wishes to work-share, we try to facilitate them if at all possible. The procedure to apply for work-sharing is set out in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform's circular on work-sharing.

All applications are considered on a case-by-case basis, in light of the pressure on work in those Departments and the overall budgetary situation. If a staff member wishes to change the existing work sharing pattern it can be considered in the overall context of the business needs of the Department and budgetary considerations.

Staff avail of a variety of work-sharing patterns and they range from 40% to 80%. Examples of such patterns include a two-day week where there is a 40% whole-time equivalent, a three-day week where there it is 60%, a four-day week where it is 80% or a split week, two or three days each calendar week or 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day, and 73% get involved in that. A broad range of family-friendly and work-life balance schemes are available to staff across the civil service, but they are also available in the Department of the Taoiseach. They include work-sharing, flexitime, career breaks, a shorter working year scheme and special leave for domestic circumstances. Staff also have entitlements to a variety of statutory schemes such as maternity leave, paternal leave and force majeureleave. Requests for access to work-life balance schemes are facilitated in so far as we can. Flexitime is available to clerical staff, executive, higher executive and administrative officers and third secretaries in the Department.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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Notwithstanding what the Taoiseach has said, we all realise the difficulties the public service is facing in terms of reduced numbers across the board. We do not have, as yet, a number of women, particularly in senior posts, in the public service. We all accept that women are adversely affected by anything that may be seen to be not family friendly or favouring the area of work-life balance. Can the Taoiseach give us a serious undertaking that irrespective of the Haddington Road agreement and the pressures his Department is under, he will take the lead and ensure he has in his Department at least the same number of women availing of the opportunities for various part-time working arrangements into the future that he currently has? The Government is frequently accused of not having the sort of flexibility required to take on board such measures but maybe as we look to the future such measures are even more important than they were in the past. Again, I appeal to the Taoiseach to give us his personal assurance that these matters will be prioritised.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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As I said to Deputy Ó Fearghaíl, when somebody seeks one of these arrangements, every effort is made to accommodate that person irrespective of the sector in which they work or their level, in accordance with what I have said here. While Haddington Road sets out the collective agreement for the Civil Service and the non-commercial State sponsored bodies, NCSSBs, some of the individual responses I have given may differ from the broader public service. But because the Deputy has asked a very direct question here, let me give him the following assurance. The Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach would be more than anxious that where people have made a request for any one of the flexitime or shared-time working arrangements, the Department tries to accommodate them where that is possible. I can give the Deputy an update where that is concerned with both women and men in the Department where it applies.

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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An Teachta Ó Fearghaíl asked and the Taoiseach answered most of the questions I had in mind. Because all these work-sharing positions are held by female staff, how many other staff members of the Department of the Taoiseach are women? He might not know off the top of his head.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I will have to give Deputy Adams that figure. I am not sure of the breakdown between male and female but I will send it on to him.