Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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148. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the staffing plans for Irish Water; if he is satisfied that Irish Water will not be overstaffed and will operate efficiently; if he will provide a county breakdown of staffing details where former local authority staff have been or are planned to be employed by Irish Water, if he will give the overall staffing cost for water services departments nationwide in 2013; the overall staffing cost of the provision of water, post the establishment of Irish Water; if any agreements were made with unions in relation to the staffing of Irish Water; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4776/14]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Irish Water is being established to accelerate capital investment in water services and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of water services delivery. The organisation needs to be appropriately resourced to fulfil this task and will not be over-staffed. Irish Water is currently recruiting to build up the required internal capabilities and the number of staff employed is an operational matter for the organisation. It was agreed by the Steering Group for the Water Sector Reform programme that, to ensure skills within the sector were fully availed of in building up the new organisation, competitions for positions in asset management, capital delivery and operations would be restricted to staff in the partner organisations i.e. Bord Gáis Éireann, local authorities and my Department in the first instance. Open competitions are held for all other positions and details of these are available on Irish Water’s website.

Data supplied by Irish Water indicate that at present 310 staff appointments have been made in Irish Water. In total 107 staff from the local authority sector have been employed and are based in the following area offices: 

Irish Water has entered into service level agreements (SLA) with each of the 34 authorities for the provision of water services. Staff in local authorities conducting work under these arrangements will remain local authority employees. The SLA reflects the transformation agenda required for the sector, with provision for annual service plans which will set out required performance, budgets and headcount. The length of the service level agreement and the fact that the agreement will include a programme of change are reflected in a Framework document, agreed with the Trade Unions under the auspices of the Labour Relations Commission, and which is available on my Department’s website. This agreement, and the Water Services No.2 Act, 2013 provides that, in the event of a SLA coming to an end, the staff covered by that agreement will become Irish Water employees and their terms and conditions and superannuation arrangements will be protected by legislation.