Barry Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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656. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will provide in tabular form, the total number of uncertified sick days taken by employees in her Department and the average uncertified sick days per employee taken; the total certified sick days taken by employees; the average certified sick days per employee; the total sick days taken by employees; the average total sick days and median overall sick days per employee in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. [7639/14]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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As my Department was established on 2nd June 2011, the information requested by the Deputy is provided from June 2011 onwards. Absenteeism information relating to staff currently employed by my Department for the years 2009, 2010 and up to end May 2011 will be included in the returns from the Departments where the staff involved were employed prior to transfer to my Department.

While the overall number of days lost to sick leave appears to have increased over the period 2011 to 2012, account must also be taken that the numbers employed in the Department also increased during the same period. The overall lost time rate, which is the total amount of time lost due to sick leave as a percentage of total time available, is a more accurate picture of absenteeism levels and this has fallen from 5.48% in 2011 to 3.52% for 2012.