Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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218. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if community welfare officers that transferred into his Department from the HSE were given undertakings on transfer and that these CWOs were paying 5% pension contributions as long as they were with the HSE, something that civil servants at the time were not paying, they should now be reimbursed these contributions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33351/16]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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In line with Labour Court recommendations LCR 20116, LCR 20117 and LCR 20116, the Community Welfare Officers (CWOs) transferred to the Department of Social Protection on the principle that their existing terms and conditions of employment would neither improve nor diminish by reason of the transfer.

During the course of the negotiations of the Public Service Stability Agreement (2013-2016) the Public Service Executive Union (PSEU) raised grade assimilation issues relating to former CWOs. It was agreed, as part of the aforementioned agreement that the parties would work towards resolving the position regarding the grade assimilation issues within the lifetime of the collective agreement. Arising from talks on the Lansdowne Road Agreement, it was agreed that any anomalies relating to former HSE staff at PSEU member grades would be resolved with effect from 1 January 2016 on the understanding that agreement had been reached between the parties on all outstanding issues related to the matter. These issues included that relating to former HSE staff who were pre-1995 entrants and who paid a pension contribution of 5% which was not paid by other pre-1995 HEOs.

Following negotiations between the Departments of Social Protection, Public Expenditure and Reform and the PSEU, agreement was reached in September 2015. On foot of that agreement, with effect from 1 January 2016, the requirement for pre-1995 former HSE staff to pay the pension contribution of 5% was removed and no retrospection applied.