Liam Aylward (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Question 961: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will review travel and subsistence payments to several prison officers temporarily assigned from the Curragh and Fort Mitchel prisons who received reduced payments, unlike other officers who received full remuneration; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24861/05]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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The position regarding 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 and Question No. 615 on 28 June 2005. I indicated that the payment of travel and subsistence is governed by the provisions of the 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 its staff in any particular situation.

Accordingly, regarding temporary transfers from the Curragh and Fort Mitchel, it was decided that subsistence payments relating to breakfast, dinner or tea allowances should 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 was reviewed regularly. For the purposes of clarification, where an officer travels from home to the prison of temporary transfer he or she 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, that portion will not qualify for payment of mileage — 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.

I have no proposals to review those arrangements. However, I understand that the director general of the Irish Prison Service proposes to address the issue of the permanent redeployment of Fort Mitchel staff in the context of the implementation of the current change agreement in the Prison Service.