Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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807. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of staff in his Department on sick leave between March and September by month in 2019 and to date 2020; the pay arrangements that exist for staff on sick leave for an extended period of time; the number of sick days accounted for by his Department over the period; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28927/20]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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The table below shows the number of staff in my Department that availed of sick leave between March and September, by month, in 2019 and 2020, as well as the number of days accounted for during this period.

Pay arrangements that exist for staff on sick leave are dealt with under Circular 05/2018 - Arrangements for Paid Sick Leave. The main provisions of the regulations for extended periods of sick leave are as follows:

Limits for Sick Leave

- 92 days on full pay in a rolling 1 year period counting back from the day before the latest date of absence followed by 91 days on half pay subject to:

- A maximum of 183 days in a rolling 4 year period counting back from day before the latest date of absence.

Limits for Sick Leave Granted under the Critical Illness Protocol

- 183 days on full pay in a rolling 1 year period counting back from the day before latest date of absence followed by 182 days on half pay subject to:

- A maximum of 365 days in a rolling 4 year period counting back from the day before the latest date of absence.

Temporary Rehabilitation Remuneration

Regulation 6 of SI 124 of 2014 sets out the provisions for Temporary Rehabilitation Remuneration (TRR).

The conditions to be met before temporary rehabilitation remuneration can be paid are:

(a) the individual concerned must have the service required for an ill health retirement pension*; and

(b) there must be a reasonable prospect that the individual will be able to return to work and give regular and effective service.

Regulation 6 also provides that the rate of pay of temporary rehabilitation remuneration is the same as the rate of pension that the individual would be paid if they were to be ill-health retired.

The following limits apply for payment of TRR:

Ordinary sick leave: 547 days on TRR in a rolling 4 year period

Critical Illness Provisions: 365 days on TRR in a rolling 4 year period with a provision to extend for a further 2 years subject to 6 monthly reviews.

*An ill health retirement pension is a pension that may be paid to an individual where he or she retires on health grounds.