Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of staff members of her Department that have been awarded internal promotions and or additional acting up or temporary allowances to perform more senior roles since 27 March 2009; the details of the grades involved; the pre-promotion temporary acting and post promotion temporaryacting pay scales; the total increase in salary payments to each staff member involved; the duration of assignments; the area to which each person was assigned; the business reasons supporting any such decision; the details of sanction received from the Department of Finance and or Public Expenditure and Reform; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47170/12]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I understand that the Deputy requires this information in relation to staff at or above Assistant Principal (AP) Officer grade. My Department has been operating within the terms of the Moratorium on Recruitment and Promotions within the Public Service, and the promotions and assignments to higher duties have been effected in accordance with a number of sanctions as authorised by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER). All assignments are made taking account of business demands and with the approval of senior management. The promotions effected during the period March 2009 to October 2012 are listed in tabular form at Appendix 1. The Deputy will see that there was a significant turnover in the staffing of senior management levels in my Department, particularly at Management Board, with the Secretary General, three Assistant Secretaries and three Directors retiring during 2010. These retirements resulted in consequential promotions.

In addition, under the Programme for Government, the Department has been tasked with the development of a new integrated income support and employment support service, which involved the integration of over 1,700 staff from the Community Welfare Service (CWS) of the Health Service Executive (HSE) and the Employment/Community Services from FAS. The Department put a new regional and divisional management structure in place, to support the new service delivery model and the Department’s business support areas. In this regard, the Department sought and received sanction from DPER for additional promotions as no senior management structure, (officials above AP level), transferred with the 1,000 staff from the HSE. Initially, eight higher duty allowances allowing staff to perform duties at Principal Officer level were awarded to manage the transfer of the CWS service and the ongoing operations and integration of this business area. These posts were subsequently assigned on a permanent basis, following a competitive process in early 2012.

The assignment to higher duties are listed in Appendix 2 and, apart from the exceptional circumstances above, are generally applied in limited circumstances only, to address issues such as long term staff absences, maternity or carers leave. Assignments varied in duration, and, as a general rule, were resorted to only in cases where the absence was expected to exceed a minimum period of twelve (12) weeks. All salary increases were in line with agreed payscales.

Appendix 1

Promotions 2009 - 2012

Promotions: Grade and Location

Promotions 2009:

4 x Assistant Principal Officer;

1 x Information Systems Division;

1 x Accounts Branch;

1 x Regional Office South East;

1 x Regional Co-ordinator Mullingar

Promotions 2010:

3 x Assistant Secretary

1 x Principal Officer, Social Welfare Services Office, Sligo

4 x Assistant Principal Officer:

1 x Facilities Management Unit

3 x Social Welfare Services Office, Sligo

Promotions 2011:

1 x Deputy Secretary General

1 x Assistant Secretary

12 x Assistant Principal Officer Posts

2 x Social Welfare Services Office, Carrick-on-Shannon

1 x Area Manager Cavan/Leitrim

1 x Area Manager Wicklow

1 x Area Manager Southern Region

1 x Area Manager Mayo

1 x Area Manager Cork

1 x Planning Unit

1 x HR Division

1 x Staff Development Unit

1 x Appeals Office, Galway

1 x General Register Office

Promotions 2012:

1 x Assistant Secretary

13 x Principal Officer Posts

1 x Accounts Branch

1 x Citizen’s Information Board

1 x Budget Division

2 x Human Resources

1 x Employer Relations

1 x Illness Benefits Branch

1 x Planning Unit

1 x Social Welfare Services Office, Sligo

1 x South East Division

1 x Western Division

1 x Midlands South Division

1 x Midlands North Division

12 x Assistant Principal Officer Posts

1 x General Register Office

1 x EU International

1 x Illness Benefits Branch

1 x PRSI Unit Waterford

1 x Community Services, Tipperary

1 x Social Welfare Services Office, Longford

1 x Social Welfare Services Office, Sligo

2 x Information Systems Division

1 x Client Identity Services

1 x Area Manager Tullamore

1 x ISD

Appendix 2

Higher Duty Assignments

* Acting positions ended in May 2012 following placement of officers on promotion to the positions noted.