£30,300 overtime for top 10 prison officers

The top 10 overtime earning prison officers in the State received an average of about £30,300 each in overtime for the first …

The top 10 overtime earning prison officers in the State received an average of about £30,300 each in overtime for the first nine months of this year, according to figures released by the Minister for Justice.

This compares to an average of £31,300 for all of last year and £23,820 for 1997 in overtime payments. The top earners work in Portlaoise or Mountjoy jail and the average overtime payment is £20 an hour.

Mr O'Donoghue said the "level of overtime earned by the top officers equates to over 40 basic hours extra per week".

In a written reply to Fine Gael's Justice spokesman, Mr Jim Higgins, he said the biggest overtime earner so far this year was a prison officer in Portlaoise on a "trades officer" grade who earned £35,295.02 up to the end of September this year, with the second, also in Portlaoise, on £33,706.62

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The Minister said that there was no set hourly rate for overtime. It was linked to an officer's grade, so the higher the grade, the higher the amount payable.

Mr O'Donoghue said it was a matter of concern which was being addressed in a "strategic way" through the work of a dedicated staffing and operations review team.

The team was examining staff requirements at each institution and had so far produced seven reports. A strategy for the implementation of the findings was being developed, he said. "The ultimate aim is to have an attendance system for the prison service which does not rely on overtime to meet its operational needs."