Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal East, Labour)
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175. To ask the Taoiseach the reason subsistence allowance was removed from a group of persons working with the Central Statistics Office (details supplied); and if a circular exists detailing the reason it was removed will be provided. [19370/25]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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For reasons of confidentiality, the CSO does not normally address individual employment queries through the Parliamentary Question system. Individual queries on this issue which have been received by CSO HR have all been responded to directly. However, the CSO’s general position in relation to subsistence for Household survey interviewers is as follows.

The CSO Household survey team consists of approximately 120 permanent staff and over 90 temporary interviewers who survey approximately 3,400 households each week.

Survey interviewers are assigned a case load based on a quarterly allocation and have a large degree of autonomy to decide when they work these cases over the course of the allocation period. This flexibility of the role is appealing and an enabler of success in the field where interviewers can work their schedule to meet their own requirements while also providing the flexibility to meet the schedule of households.

As such, there is no requirement for an interviewer to be away from home for more than 5 hours, the minimum threshold for payment of subsistence, in any one instance. Individual interviewers are free to determine the hours they work per day and the days worked per week up to the contracted 25.15 hours per week.

In the specific instance referred to in the present case, subsistence was approved in error, and not approved in advance as per Circular 11/82. This has since been addressed and acknowledged as an error. In line with Circular 07/2018, a recoupment of the overpayment of this subsistence is being put in place.

While subsistence is not provided for in day-to-day operation of this role, it should be noted that Survey Interviewers are entitled to mileage while working in the field and do, in some circumstances, receive subsistence (day allowances) such as when attending briefings or training events outside of their normal daily work.