THE DEPARTMENT OF Public Expenditure and Reform today announced its review of the various allowances currently claimed by members of the public service.

The review breaks down its recommendations on the necessity of these allowances into three sections: Those they recommend be kept and given to new workers, those they recommend be modified in some way for future employees – and those that they think should no longer be given to new employees.

Almost 1,000 allowances are in place, according to figures from the department. Minister Brendan Howlin said today that his department will not realise the savings of €75m it had hoped to make by reforming the allowance system.

The following are among the public service allowances which the department would like to see kept in future for all new and current beneficiaries:

Across all sectors:

• The Saturday allowance and the Sunday premia payment
• Both shift and unsocial hour Allowances
• The allowance payable to keyholders (ie those on call) across various sectors e.g. Chester Beatty’s six keyholders as there is no 24-hour security
• The Eating on Site allowance which is paid as compensation for lunch breaks taken away from designated base
• Dirty Money is still to be paid for undertaking certain dirty duties, including sewerage facilities, landfill, removal of deal animals.

PUBLIC SERVICE

Education:

• Visiting Teachers Allowance to those teaching the visually impaired and hearing impaired
• The Secure Unit Allowance/Disturbed Adolescent Allowance payable to teachers working in children’s detention centres
• The allowance paid to teachers with 35 years service or more
• The allowance for the July Provision Scheme Management paid to one staff member in Special schools where there is a summer programme
• The allowance for the SNA July Programme
• The script marking allowances in Institutes of Technology only

Defence

• The Foreign Language Proficiency Allowance paid to those with NATO-standard proficiency
• The ‘In-Charge’ Allowance payable to those in the Naval Service
• Aid to the Civil Authority paid at a per day-rate of between €49.76 and €99.60 for those helping outside normal hours of duty e.g. during flood or snow relief
• Change of Station Allowance arising from a mandatory move
• Fire Protection Pay for those on duty at Government buildings. It is paid at a daily rate of €5.06
• Explosive Ordance Duty Allowance of over €90 paid daily to personnel engaged in 24-hour bomb disposal work
• Overseas Allowances for both peace support and missions
• Allowance for those performing duty at Portlaoise prison

Local Government

• The allowance for the Water and Sewerage Caretaker
• The allowance for extra duties carried out by the Water Safety Development Officer
• The allowance paid to employees who are on call for out of hours emergency road gritting and salting operations

Garda Sector

• Allowances for those appointed as Scenes of Crime Examiners
• Allowances for Immigration officers
• Dog Handler Allowance
• Public Holiday Allowance
• Boot Allowance
• Plain Clothes Allowance
• Uniform Cleaning Allowance
• Detective Allowance
• An allowance for those 34 drivers working in the Ministerial pool

HSE

• Sleep-in overnight allowance
• The allowance to employees who participate in the Assisted Admissions Tea
• The allowance for advanced paramedics for those who meet the qualifying criteria

CIVIL SERVICE

Irish Prisons Service

• The allowance for the National Head Chaplain
• Payment for attending Core Hours of duty

Revenue

• Dog Handler Allowance
• Various allowances for those on duty at Dublin Airport
• The allowance for the Joint Investigation Unit

Justice

• The out-of-hours allowance for the Press Officer of the Irish Prison Service
• The out-of-hours allowances for duties relating to sentence management
• Private Secretary allowances for supreme court and high court judges
• The allowance for the call out of the State Pathologist

Social Protection

• The allowance for the Special Investigation Unit which probes suspect fraudulent activities
• The Call Out Availability Allowance paid to the manager of the local office

Agriculture, Fisheries and Marine

• Assistant Manager and Farm Manager at Longtown Farm
• Pesticides Allowance
• The Special Investigation Unit Allowance
• The Post-Mortem Room Allowance

Office of Public Works

• The allowance paid to three senior clerk of works to work at a higher level of responsibility at the Mechanical & Electrical Section – Special Duty

Central Statistics Office

• The mobile phone allowance of €12.70 per month so the pricing liaison officer can contact the office and the 90 price collectors off-site
• A €1,728 allowance for the pricing liaison officer for training price collectors and carrying out quality control checks
• The allowance for service attendants’ extra duties

NON-COMMERCIAL STATE AGENCIES

Road Safety Authority

• Transport Officer Allowance
• Atypical Working Hours Allowance
• Training Allowance for driving testers
• Vehicle Inspector Allowance

National Museum of Ireland

• IT Allowance for the provision of support at the museum site in Castlebar
• Senior Sales Allowance

Chester Beatty

• Uniform allowance for shoes, socks and dry-cleaning
• Box making/Microfilming Allowance give to those carrying out duties to preserve collections

IMMA

• Supervisor Higher Duty (Cleaning) allowance for maintaining rosters and ordering stock

Ordnance Survey Ireland

• Flight Allowance
• Flight Manager’s Flying Allowance

Health and Safety Authority

• Call out allowance

Teagasc

• Responsibility Allowance
• Regional Managers Allowance
• Staff Officers Allowance
• Admin Grade 2 Allowance
• College Principal Allowance
• Head of Department Allowance
• Programme Leader Allowance
• Grade 3 Higher Allowance
• Enterprise Leader
• College Staff Officers Allowance

More: Public service allowances: The ones they want abolished>

Public Sector Allowances: The ones they *might* change>

Read: Public service allowance savings targets for 2012 will not be met>

See the full document showing the case being made for 800 or so public sector allowances>

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