Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 239: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the systems his Department has in place for tracking absences from work for various reasons, for benchmarking them against best standards and for estimating the cost of cover or lost input as a result of these absences; and if he will present data for the most recent years on this matter. [39171/08]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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Staff absences in my Department such as sick leave, maternity leave, parental leave, carer's leave, study and exam leave, and term time, are recorded on the time and attendance system (Clockwise) and on our Human Resource Management System. Annual Leave is recorded and managed locally on Clockwise by line divisions and is monitored by our Human Resources Division.

Generally, cover is not provided where absences occur although, in some instances, staff are paid an Acting-Up Allowance to cover for maternity leave. In addition temporary Clerical Officers are recruited to cover for term time and staff are paid an Acting-Up Allowance in some instances. The sum of €40,000 was provided in the Estimates to cover the cost of the Department's term-time scheme in 2008.

There are no systems in place for benchmarking absences from work but all absences are managed in accordance with Department of Finance regulations. I will revert to the Deputy with general details for 2007 and 2008 in relation to the categories of absences mentioned in the first paragraph.