Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Firstly, I would like to acknowledge the important work carried out by all support staff across our health service whose roles were evaluated under Phase IV of the Job Evaluation Scheme.

As the Deputy is aware, the Job Evaluation Scheme was an assessment of the responsibilities and tasks undertaken by support staff across the Health service and to determine whether any changes to their bands of pay were required based on a specific set of determiners. The evaluation process took place in four distinct phases, as agreed under the provisions of the Lansdowne Road Agreement. The fourth phase of the scheme has been completed and HSE HR circular 003 2003 has been released by the HSE and highlights the agreed bands of pay for support staff.

At the beginning of the Job Evaluation process, a National Monitoring Group was established, comprising of HSE and SIPTU officials. During Phase IV of the scheme, the National Monitoring Group held regular meetings to discuss and review progress. The methodology for the evaluation process was agreed by the National Monitoring Group. The recommendations under Phase IV of the scheme were evidence-based and made without prejudice based on a specific set of criteria. All four phases have now been completed and no formal mechanism for appeal was established under the process.