Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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827. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of persons in her Department who have been tasked with ensuring that difficulties with her Department’s payroll in respect of the release of increments which were deferred under the Haddington Road agreement will be resolved satisfactorily. [1533/15]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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828. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the additional personnel that were assigned to her Department’s payroll section to ensure that difficulties with her Department’s payroll in respect of the release of increments which were deferred under the Haddington Road agreement will be resolved satisfactorily. [1534/15]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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829. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the staffing levels in her Department’s payroll section. [1535/15]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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830. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she is satisfied that the staffing level in her Department’s payroll section is sufficient to ensure the issuing of salary payments on a fortnightly basis to serving teachers, special needs assistants, secretaries and caretakers employed under the 1978-79 schemes and retired teachers and non-teaching staff. [1536/15]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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831. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the changes made to staffing levels in her Department’s payroll section since 2008. [1537/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 827 to 831, inclusive, together.

Staffing levels in front line operational areas such as Teachers' Payroll sections were maintained in recent years even though there was a planned reduction of Department's overall staffing levels required by the Employment Control Framework (ECF) agreed under the Croke Park and Haddington Road Agreements.

The staffing levels of the section are examined on a regular basis. This is necessary to take cognisance of the ongoing changing demands as new projects, work functions and schemes are introduced and the work associated with existing projects, work functions and schemes decrease or cease. The introduction of automated processes also impacts on staffing requirements of the section.

In that context the Haddington Road Agreement is only one of a significant number of projects and schemes that have been successfully project managed and introduced in recent years. These include Pension Related Deduction (PRD), Universal Social Charge (USC), Single European Payments Area (SEPA), Single Pension Scheme, implementation of Section 30 of the Teaching Council Act, additional payrolls for part-time teachers and the revised sick leave scheme arrangements. Similar staffing implementation arrangements are being applied for the Haddington Road agreement as applied for the other projects.

The overall level of staffing in the section has increased by six full time equivalents in the period referred to by the Deputy. Additional temporary staffing resources are also deployed when required to cover long term absences such as maternity leave.

I am quite satisfied that the staffing level in my Department's payroll section is sufficient to ensure the issuing of salary payments on a fortnightly basis to serving teachers, special needs assistants, secretaries and caretakers employed under the 1978/79 schemes and retired teachers and non-teaching staff.