GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS and agencies facilitated the deduction of over €30 million in trade union subscriptions from the pay of public service staff last year, it has emerged.
Public service staff were also allowed to take nearly 1,600 days in special paid leave to attend union conferences, meetings or training courses last year.
The details were secured by Fine Gael Deputy Leo Varadkar in reply to a series of parliamentary questions tabled in recent days to various Government Ministers.
However, the final figures for both deductions and special leave are likely to be considerably higher as the amounts set out in the replies do not include returns for local authorities and the Health Service Executive, as well as for some Government departments.
The Irish Times revealed last month the Department of Finance had proposed in a draft memorandum drawn up for the Cabinet that the Government could clamp down on arrangements such as the deduction of trade union subscriptions at source and the provision of paid special leave for conferences if industrial action in the public service continued.
Over the last fortnight nearly 250,000 staff in the public service have embarked on action including refusing to answer phones and operate public offices at lunchtime in protest at pay cuts.
Mr Varadkar said last night he had no problem in principle with the State facilitating the deduction of union subscriptions at source.
However, he said this could be looked at again if the industrial action was escalated and began to impact, for example, on schoolchildren or cancer patients.
The largest level of trade union subscription deductions recorded in the replies was in the teaching sector. Minister for Education Batt O’Keeffe revealed nearly €11.5 million was deducted at source from primary teachers and given to the INTO. He also said €4.8 million was deducted for the secondary teachers’ union ASTI.
More than €4 million was deducted from the payroll in respect of staff associations for members of the Garda, and nearly €1.5 million for bodies representing the Prison Service. The figures reveal 1,022 days were authorised for staff of the Revenue Commissioners last year to attend union meetings and conferences.
Various Ministers pointed out in their replies that, under a department circular dating back nearly 30 years, special leave with pay may be granted to non-full-time representatives of staff associations/unions in respect of attendance at certain categories of meetings, conferences and training courses. The circular states such leave is subject to certain conditions including due regard to the exigencies of official work. In the Department of Social and Family Affairs, more than 203 days were approved as special leave with pay under such terms.