Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 131: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the procedures in place to manage sick leave in all agencies, offices or other bodies reporting to her Department, separate to individuals working directly for her Department; the combined number of sick days taken by staff in the agencies, offices or other bodies reporting to hers Department in 2011 and to date in 2012; the financial cost of this sick leave; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32566/12]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The agencies operating under the aegis of the Department are the Citizens Information Board and the Pensions Board. In addition, the Office of the Pensions Ombudsman comes under the remit of the Department.

The staff of the Office of the Pensions Ombudsman are civil servants and, in this regard, they are required to comply with the policies on the management of sick leave as outlined in Department of Finance Circular 09/2010, details of which were provided in my response to Question No. 133 which I answered for the Deputy on Thursday 28th June 2012.

While the staff in the Citizens Information Board and the Pensions Board are public servants, both organisations operate their respective sick leave policies along the lines of those applying to civil servants, with only minor differences e.g. staff may be referred to a designated medical official rather than the civil service Chief Medical Officer.

Details of the number of days sick leave taken by staff in the agencies and the related costs are shown in the following tables.

2011

2012 - 1 January to 31 March