Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 615: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the reason temporary prison officers in the Midlands Prison, Portlaoise, who previously worked in the Curragh Prison, are not receiving subsistence and travel allowances; if these allowances will be awarded; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22618/05]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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The position with regard to the payment of travel and subsistence to the staff concerned was set out in my replies to Questions Nos. 198 and 199 on 16 June 2004. I indicated that the payment of travel and subsistence is governed by the provisions of Department of the Public Service Circular 11/82. It is a matter for each Department to determine whether it would be appropriate to make travel and subsistence payments to their staff in any particular situation.

Accordingly, in relation to temporary transfers from the Curragh, it was decided that subsistence payments relating to breakfast, dinner or tea allowances would not be paid as the costs of same would normally be incurred by the officer in any event. Furthermore, mileage expenses were to be at the lower rate and the payment of this was reviewed on a regular basis. For the purposes of clarification, where an officer travels from home to the prison of temporary transfer, she or he will qualify for mileage, at the lower rate, based on the lesser of the distance from home to the prison of temporary transfer or the distance from his or her normal prison to the prison of temporary transfer, except that if any part of the journey from home to the prison of temporary transfer covers part of the usual route from home to his or her normal prison, this portion will not qualify for payment of mileage, that is, mileage is only payable for that part of the journey after the officer leaves his or her normal route to work to his or her normal prison.