Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 215: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children if she will consider introducing a Dublin weighting allowance of 10% for doctors and nurses; the likely costthereof; her views on whether it is likely, if she introduced such an allowance, other health services staff would seek such an allowance; the likely cost of such an allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11975/05]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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The matter raised by the Deputy was considered by the Labour Court in May 2003. The Nursing Alliance has pursued a claim for a Dublin weighting allowance for nurses in recent years. There are approximately 12,500 nurses, wholetime equivalents, employed in the three Health Service Executive areas covering the greater Dublin region. Recent estimates by my Departments show that an allowance of, for example, €3,800 per nurse would cost in excess of €52 million per annum. I am not aware of a claim for a Dublin weighting allowance from representative bodies for doctors.

In the course of the Labour Court hearing in May 2003, management argued that the claim was cost increasing and therefore precluded under the stabilisation clause of the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness. It was further argued that the position of nurses could not be looked at in isolation from other health service staff and the wider public service in the Dublin region. There are more than 38,000 health service staff in the eastern region and a further 50,000 employed in other parts of the public service in Dublin. In 2003, it was estimated that the cost of paying a weighting allowance to all public servants in the Dublin area would have been in excess of €250 million per annum.

The Labour Court issued its recommendation on 18 June 2003. The court took the view that the benchmarking body had considered submissions on the issue of a Dublin weighting allowance for nurses and had taken them into account when making its judgment. It was accepted by the parties to the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness that the only means of addressing claims was through the benchmarking process and that claims would be dealt with solely within that context. Given the court's judgment that the benchmarking body considered the submissions made on the Dublin weighting allowance, the court did not recommend concession of the unions' claim.