ALL EXISTING staff across the public service are expected to be set new levels of annual leave ranging from a minimum of 22 days to a maximum of 32, under new measures expected to be announced by the Government.
New staff entering the public service will also have a minimum of 22 days leave but a new maximum of 30 days off annually depending on their grade.
All serving personnel who accept promotions will be considered as new entrants for leave purposes under the current plans.
The move to standardise annual leave arrangements follows the row over the rejection by an arbitration board in the Civil Service of moves by the Department of Finance to reform “privilege days” or additional days off given to staff on top of yearly holidays. There was also a dispute over plans by management in local authorities to reduce leave under the Croke Park agreement.
The new moves could be announced on Thursday as part of a new public service reform plan which is being drawn up by Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin.
The Cabinet devoted a special meeting yesterday to discuss Mr Howlin’s wide-ranging proposals for reform in the public service. It is understood that discussion during the seven-hour meeting focused on proposals to reduce the number of State agencies and quangos. Early plans suggested some 102 bodies should be axed or merged but the number has since reduced to less than 50. That is on top of 28 rationalisations already approved by Government.
Mr Howlin is also expected to outline his proposals for reduction in public sector numbers on Thursday. The Government’s target of reducing numbers to 302,000 for 2011 will be easily surpassed, a Government source said yesterday. A year-by-year timeline of reducing numbers by as many as 25,000 by 2015 will also be disclosed, as will details of the strategy for reforming shared services, e-Government; procurement and expenditure reform.
Separately, a Government source said yesterday that Minister of State Fergus O’Dowd was mistaken when he implied that some €600 million of the €700 million cuts required from the Department of Social Protection in the forthcoming budget could be achieved by tackling welfare fraud.
Savings achieved from measures to tackle fraud abuse do not form part of the budget arithmetic, said a source and the whole of the adjustment required from the department will have to be found in other areas.
The new measures on holidays being proposed by Mr Howlin’s department will see some staff gain additional days off, many more could lose out. Sources suggested that staff who lose leave arrangements under the plan may be offered a one-off compensation arrangement. This could possibly be 1½ times the level of leave lost.