Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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1. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he is satisfied with the implementation of revised sick pay arrangements in the public sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9442/14]

Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I wanted the Minister to give me an update on the implementation of the sick pay scheme across the public service. In a reply to a parliamentary question two weeks ago, the Minister told me it was at an advanced stage of drafting. I tabled another Priority Question for the first question this morning but the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform would not let the Minister take it and I have had to substitute this question. I wanted to talk to the Minister about the consolidated public sector pay rates and top-up payments, but for some reason the Department decided the Minister should not be allowed to answer that question in the Chamber today, which is most unfair.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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I can be accused of many things but I am happy to answer anything anyone poses. I have no control over the questions that come in. I will go on to answer the first question that is tabled to me.

The implementation of the new single sick leave scheme for the public service generally will commence next month. The effective date for the new scheme will be 31 March 2014. The scheme is being introduced through ministerial regulations which are provided for in the recently enacted Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) (Amendment) Act 2013. The drafting of these regulations has been a priority for my Department working closely with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel since the relevant legislation was enacted at the end of last year. The regulations are at an advanced stage of preparation. I spoke to the Attorney General about them. They will be laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas as soon as possible. Preparations are also at an advanced stage to ensure an effective roll-out of the new sick leave scheme once the regulations come into effect.

Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I believe the Minister would have answered the Priority Question I tabled had his officials let him. I am asking him to go back to his Department and tell it to stop blocking him as Minister from answering questions and me as an Opposition spokesperson from tabling them. We had this last year. I tabled a question to the Minister asking him about the implications for State agencies that fail to comply with consolidated public sector pay scales by continuing to make top-up payments to staff and when the Minister expected to have the matter resolved. I know the Minister would have wanted to answer that question. Could he go back to his Department and tell his officials to let him answer? They will have some obtuse reason such as it was spoken about two months ago and, therefore, they think the matter is closed. They are doing this House a disservice. The Minister's Department is the Department responsible for political reform but it refused to allow that question. It referred it to the Department of Health. Someone thinks it relates exclusively to section 38 and section 39 agreements but it could relate to health or arts and culture. It could relate to many Departments.

The Psychiatric Nurses Association of Ireland has been in contact with me and has highlighted various issues and difficulties. I know it has been through the Labour Court but the association was excluded from the Labour Court procedures. The association has highlighted what we have highlighted in the House before. The unfair treatment of pregnancy related illness under this scheme is not adequately dealt with. It discriminates against people with disabilities or mental health issues and the retrospective element is unfair to people who had critical illnesses in the past. There is a new definition in this legislation but some of the people who will have no sick leave available to them to carry forward would have come in under critical illness in the past but are now being excluded. There are people who have serious difficulties. I mentioned psychiatric nurses but they could be gardaí, firemen or prison officers. These need to be addressed.

When the legislation was going through, I asked the Minister to clarify the situation whereby a person's half pay after three months could in many cases be less than the household entitlement to a social welfare payment if the person was on disability allowance and claiming for an adult dependant and their three children, but he did not provide this clarification. What happens in this case? Will the various Departments try to make a profit out of this at the expense of people's social welfare payments? I got a convoluted answer and was told to ask the Department of Social Protection, but it relates to the Minister as the employer in the public service in the first instance.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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We had a long discussion about this because I provided for this in legislation for the first time. We have gone through the legislative debate, including a Committee Stage debate on these matters. I accepted an amendment in terms of doing it by way of regulation in order that we would have a chance to lay it out in some terms. I think the amendment was from Deputy Fleming although it might have been from Deputy McDonald. One of the Deputies tabled it and both supported it, which I think that is the way to do it. That has delayed the implementation of the sick leave arrangement. I thought it was the right thing to do. It also allowed me to have further discussions. If the Deputy recalls, we were waiting for the final element of the Labour Court recommendation before Christmas.

It arrived in early December.

I will not have time in these two minutes to go through the sick leave matter in detail but I have a list of questions and answers and it might be useful were I to submit it to both Deputies opposite. Deputy Sean Fleming raised the question of illness related to pregnancy. There will be critical illness issues, which are well covered and well negotiated. We have binding recommendations from the Labour Court, which have been incorporated in the new scheme. I can go through the details, but it would probably be of greater benefit were I to supply the list of questions and answers covering how the new scheme works, how it operates in respect of critical illnesses, etc. We can then revert to the matter.

Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister might clarify why certain unions were not allowed to participate in those Labour Court hearings, for example, the Psychiatric Nurses Association of Ireland. Was it a closed shop for key negotiators? Not every trade union covered by the Haddington Road deal was fully represented. This matter will need to be addressed, as it affects everyone.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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My experience of the Labour Court is that it is very open to submissions from anyone affected by its decisions. I have never heard a criticism of the Labour Court's openness to submissions and points of view as regards any decision it is about to make that impacts on any worker or set of workers. I would be surprised to hear of any. There are structures within the trade union movement in terms of how sectors are represented. As such, the Deputy's concern might fall into that category.

I have heard the argument that some people want to be excluded entirely from the sick leave arrangement. However, if I had not done this, I would be facing questions from the Deputy as to why we did not have proper, standardised sick leave arrangements throughout the public service under which everyone understood what was allowed and in which there was proper oversight. That is what we will have once these regulations become effective at the end of March.