David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

255. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government if Irish Water or local authorities are responsible for the payment of superannuation benefits for local authority employees transferred to Irish Water; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11239/17]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Irish Water has entered into service level agreements (SLA) with each of the 31 authorities for the provision of water services. Staff in local authorities working under these arrangements remain local authority employees. The SLA reflects the transformation agenda required for the water sector and makes provision for annual service plans to be agreed between Irish Water and the relevant local authority setting out the required performance, budgets and headcount to deliver the service. 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. This agreement and the Water Services (No.2) Act 2013 provide that, in the event of an SLA coming to an end, the staff covered by the SLA will become Irish Water employees and their terms and conditions and superannuation arrangements will be protected by legislation. 

Local authority staff who have taken up employment with Irish Water were, until January 2017, working on a secondment basis pending the establishment of the superannuation arrangements provided for under the Water Services (No.2) Act 2013. Those arrangements are now in place and such staff are now directly employed by Irish Water who has responsibility for their superannuation entitlements under the Irish Water Defined Benefit Scheme. Superannuation entitlements related to their previous employment with a local authority are the responsibility of that local authority as provided for under the Irish Water (Previous Service) Superannuation Scheme 2016 (S.I. No. 57 of 2016).