Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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73. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his attention has been drawn to concerns expressed by some members of the Irish Coast Guard on the eradication of morale, trust and pride for front-line members and a lack of confidence in management; if he is taking action to address these concerns; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33747/21]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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The Irish Coast Guard is in a process of significant change, triggered by recent safety reports and premised on principles of safety and continuous improvement as set out in the new National Search and Rescue Plan. The IRCG partnered with the Great Place To Work (GPTW) Institute to jointly develop an engagement strategy called the ‘Trust Index & Culture Assessment (TCA) campaign’. This programme is applicable equally to all personnel and is specifically designed to solicit their personal perspectives in support of the organisational reform programme.

This programme measures the extent to which an organisation is considered “great” by those who are engaged in its operations, by gathering qualitative and quantitative data on personnel perceptions of their organisational experiences, and enabling the organisation’s leadership to understand how to best improve the operating environment. Another key aspect is the ‘Culture Assessment’ tool which provides external analysis of the policies, practices, programs and day-to-day management behaviours that underpin an organisation’s culture.

These tools allow the IRCG to assess the level of trust within the organisation and to demonstrate its longer-term commitment to listening to its members, actioning upon the feedback received and to developing a ‘just’ culture.

Accordingly, in the most recent assessment of the Irish Coast Guard, 72% of those surveyed expressed Medium to High Trust in the Organisation. Whereas in terms of “Pride”, “Camaraderie” and “Respect”, measurements were externally recorded as 86%, 80% and 70% respectively.  These tools also benchmark the Irish Coast Guard against all other organisations certified by the GPTW institute for 2020-21. This demonstrated the following key metrics:

Finally, It should also be noted that following analysis of the data associated with the 2020-21 TCA campaign, the Irish Coast Guard division was successfully accredited as a ‘Great Place to Work’ by the GPTW institute.

Achieving the independent “GPTW” accreditation represents a positive endorsement of the IRCG management, staff and volunteers during a time of significant change and reform. That said, the IRCG acknowledges that there remains significant areas within the organisation that require appropriate action by the relevant managers/area owners to ensure delivery of the programme for reform and to deliver upon its strategic objectives, which include:

Communications – commencing with the publication of a revised mission statement, development of an appropriate and centralized communications strategy that allows for the efficient delivery of information to all our personnel and when relevant, external stakeholders.

Leadership development – incorporating leadership development and management skills into the training curriculums applicable to all IRCG personnel.

Performance – aligning personal performance with the Coast Guard’s 2021 Business Plan core objective, goals and priorities as detailed in the Divisional Business Plan.

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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74. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the staff turnover at the Irish Coast Guard in 2019 and 2020. [33748/21]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The staffing of the Irish Coast Guard which is a Division of my Department for years 2018, 2019 and 2020 is set out in the table below.

Accounting for vacancies and including recruitment processes, the turnover of staff in the Irish Coast Guard in 2019 was 7 and in 2020 was 6.

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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75. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the number of complaints lodged with the Irish Coast Guard in 2019 and 2020, by unit members or workers by category of complaint. [33749/21]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I can confirm that no formal complaints under the Dignity at Work policy were submitted to HR Division by IRCG full time permanent staff in 2019 and 2020.

It would not be appropriate for my Department to comment on individual complaints.