John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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103. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of complaints made against the management of the special investigations unit of his Department by staff under its supervision; if the Chief Veterinary Officer and personnel division are aware of these complaints; if each complaint was investigated; if his Department accepted the validity of each complaint; if those who complained are satisfied with the outcome and the process; if action was taken against the staff who complained; if those persons who made complaints still hold their jobs, or if they were transferred to another job or location; the number of staff in the unit when the complaints were made; the number of staff under the Superintendent's supervision when the complaints were made and the number now under the Superintendent's supervision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35237/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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One member of the SIU invoked the Civil Service Grievance Procedure in March 2012. The complaint was withdrawn in April 2015. From the details provided it would appear that the Deputy may be referring to the Cattle Movement and Monitoring System (CMMS) unit rather than the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) of the Department.

Following the introduction of a new identification system for bovines which led to significant discrepancies in the early stages, the CMMS Unit was initiated as a support to the work of the local District Veterinary Offices.

For operational management purposes, staff assigned to the CMMS Unit were under the same line management as the SIU. The CMMS unit staff were not part of the SIU.

In 2009, a review of the District Veterinary Office (DVO) operational management within my Department was carried out in order to maximise efficiency. This review led to several significant changes at operational level. As the volume of discrepancies had decreased and there was, following the DVO operational management review, an increased capacity among local office staff to carry out such work, it was decided to discontinue the CMMS unit and to re-deploy the CMMS Unit staff to other areas of my Department where vacancies existed. In Sept 2010, my Department met with the staff side’s representatives to discuss the redeployment of the staff that had been assigned to the CMMS unit. Following the announcement of the proposed transfers, the eleven staff of the CMMS Unit, in the period Sept-Oct 2011, lodged similar individual complaints regarding work issues against line management under the Civil Service Grievance Procedure. Mediation efforts were made on 2 occasions, namely July 2012 and Oct 2014. In the former case, the mediator withdrew from the process as he was of the view that the issues raised were not appropriate to the grievance procedure. In the latter case, the mediator made an offer, to bring closure to the issue and allow the parties to move forward. That offer was not accepted by the staff.

I would like to emphasise that no action was taken against any of the staff who complained. Ten of the eleven staff are presently employed by my Department in areas where vacancies existed and one member has retired.

At the time of the making of the complaints, there were 11 staff in the SIU of which 6 were technical staff reporting to line management. Following the retirement of a number of staff in the intervening years coupled with the embargo on staff recruitment, the number reporting to line management at this time is two.

I can confirm that the Chief Veterinary Officer and the Personnel Officer are aware of the complaints made.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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104. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the salary scale for the different staff grades assigned to the special investigations unit of his Department for the past ten years; the travel and subsistence expenses paid to each officer from 1980 to date in 2015; the location the officers assigned to the unit were headquartered in each case; if the travel and subsistence expenses were paid to officers to attend at the headquarters for normal duties; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35238/15]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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The salary scales of the different grades assigned to the Department’s Investigations Division (and in the former Special Investigations Unit) for the last ten years in respect of each grade will be provided under separate cover in tabular form.

The travel and subsistence for each individual will be provided for the period 2004 – 2015 inclusive. The data prior to 2004 is not readily retrievable as it is not available from the Department’s computer system. My Department will endeavour to establish if the data is available in other formats and will let the Deputy know the outcome.

With regard to headquarters location of staff assigned to the Division, for strategic operational reasons, some staff of the Investigations Division are headquartered at their homes. Three staff members are currently so headquartered. The remaining staff are headquartered in Backweston. When staff who are headquartered at home travel on official duties, travel and subsistence is paid at the normal rates. The details of amounts paid will be set out in a separate table. All tables mentioned will be forwarded directly to the Deputy.