Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 75: To ask the Minister for Finance if he is committed to reforming civil servants privilege days; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8790/11]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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It is the position that privilege days no longer pertain in the civil service and have been incorporated into the annual leave allowance of civil servants. In the context of a more integrated public service, as set out in the Public Service Agreement 2010 – 2014, the issue of standardising annual leave arrangements across the public service is being considered by my Department.

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 76: To ask the Minister for Finance the annual cost of civil servant sick leave; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8791/11]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, primary responsibility for recording and managing sick leave rates is the responsibility of individual Departments and Offices, while the development of policy is a matter for my Department. In late 2009 the Comptroller and Auditor General published a Special Report on Sickness Absence in the Civil Service. That Special Report showed that sickness absence rates and costs vary widely across Government Departments and Offices.

The day to day management of sickness absence rests with each Government Department or Office. Each Department has IT systems to record attendance and absences in the Civil Service, namely a Time and Attendance system and a Human Resource Management System (HRMS). These systems form an essential part of absence management and control and are aimed at complementing the non-IT systems, the manual business processes in place for checking, cross referencing and validating absences, thus providing an overall robust system for absence management in the Civil Service.

An officer's career in the Civil Service can be seriously affected if her/his sick absences indicate that s/he cannot be relied upon to give regular and effective service. Sick leave has a very important role in the assessment of the suitability of staff for retention and progression in the Civil Service. Abuse of the sick leave regulations may lead to severe penalties including dismissal, withholding of salary increments and withdrawal of sick pay privileges. These arrangements have recently been reinforced and updated by my Department which has developed an up to date policy on management of sick leave taking account of the issues raised by the Comptroller and Auditor General.

The updated policy has been agreed with Staff Unions and is now in force. The policy was set out in a comprehensive circular on the Management of Sick Leave issued in July 2010 which is available on our website at www.personnelcode.gov.ie. The policy also gives effect to many of the C&AG recommendations in his Special Report Sickness Absence in the Civil Service such as:

Defining long term sick leave;

New practice when resuming work after sick leave ;

Introduction of Sick Leave Review and Return to Work Meetings

Early intervention and referral to the Chief Medical Officer in accordance with international best practice

The Circular aims to reduce absence from work by effective management of sick leave, and to this end, sets out manager's and officer's responsibilities in this area. As effective reporting formats and procedures are essential elements of a successful sick leave management system, the Circular sets out minimum reporting standards. To underpin this, an effective reporting format has been devised for sick absences. The reduction of work absences and costs should result in improved service delivery and relieve pressure on staff resources.