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DETAILS OF ALLOWANCES paid to some civil servants in various government departments have revealed that millions are paid to those posted overseas for school fees and the cost of living.
The figures also show that most departments afford service officers a €65 shoe allowance for outdoor duties and that press officers in the Department of the Taoiseach recieve five hours of overtime paid at double time every week for “on-call” services.
The allowances have been revealed in response to a series of parliamentary questions tabled by Fianna Fáil spokesperson on public expenditure and reform.
A total of over €2.3 million is paid to staff – 325 at any one time – from the Department of Foreign Affairs in cost of living allowances, while the Children’s Foreign Allowance, which compensates officers for additional costs incurred with regard to their children in full time education, comes in at €709,000.
In some circumstances school fees assistance is also paid at an estimated cost of over €1 million per annum.
Some protocol and Government press office staff are entitled to an annual clothing allowance of €444 per year while some departments pay a child allowance of just over €2 a week to staff who have worked in the civil service since before 1978. This is paid until the child is 21 if they remain in full time education.
Many departments emphasised that allowances are currently under review by the Department of Expenditure and Public Reform , while the Department for Social Protection emphasised that the “great majority of the department’s staff do not receive any of these allowances”.
Other allowances include:
Here’s an example of some of the allowances paid to staff in the Department of the Taoiseach:
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What a non (I tried another word but it was perceived as toxic) story, half the country has been locked down even more so in the industries that sustain casualties. Almost as daft as the commentary about record recessions when the government shut down the country, shock horror & then the hype about record growth year on year when the government opened the economy back up & allowed folk to go back to making a crust, someone must have a blank page that need filling.
@Joe Thorpe: I accept your point. It is worth noting though that the Trump administration suppressed the reporting of work related death statistics, which had been required under the Obama administration. We could have a government that does something similar and thankfully we don’t. So I’m fine with having the statistics reported, even if it is an artificial low.
@David A. Murray: Well done you’ve somehow managed to bash trump in this news article it’s 2022 now come on just get over trump.
@Joe Thorpe: you obviously had a blank page that needed filling. Blank head too methinks.
@Joe Thorpe: there is no 2 ways about it sites are becoming safer and people are more self aware not to take risks. Regardless of lockdowns or not there’s people going home to their families who a few years ago would possibly lost their live doing the same job. 1 less life lost Regardless how is a result
The chances taken by small building contractors is directly contributing to these deaths especially the fall from height deaths. Two houses being built near me at the moment and both by two different contractors are disgraceful. The Scaffolding in particular…no hand rails, toe boards, access ladders, most sections only have one or two planks on them. Two scary things about it, 1 how the HSA let them get away with it, 2 how the contractors seem to just not care about their employees or even themselves.
@Ronan: Most of the lads at it have worked in the industry for years and with way less safety back then when they first started than now they’re probably so used to it they don’t see the danger.
@Ronan: are the HSA aware
@Ronan: those curtains must get awful greasy with your paws constantly twitching at them. If you’re so concerned why don’t you 1. Go and lend your massive scaffolding know how and a hand fixing it. 2. Stop making comments on a news article and go do something about it. Why make an effort when you can complain and say I told you so!
It’s because there are simply not enough HSA audits being carried out. I have worked on construction sites here for 35 years and only seen the HSA on two sites and on both occasions we were tipped off that they would be arriving. They were both on big site where generally safety would be better. It’s the small builder say building a few houses or maybe a small block of apartments that are a disgrace when it comes to health and safety. They should be getting regular unannounced audits from the HSA and this would focus them to run the sites better. Obviously down to lack of recourses and the builders know this.
Mostly due to lockdown but the HSA will be convinced that it’s due to their sill y over the top rules and regulations working as intended
@Quiet Goer: construction wasn’t loved down this year. March 2020 when it locked down
@Shaun Gallagher: it was actually last Christmas was extended to February. Unless it was council or 6 weeks from completion.
Half my team could be dead and I wouldn’t even know anymore with WFH, for all I know I could be talking to their kids over the keyboard.
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