Latest news with #DepartmentofPublicExpenditure
Sunday World
23-05-2025
- Business
- Sunday World
More than 300 RTÉ staff apply for voluntary exit programme
Payments for those who leave will be capped at €300,000 A total of 325 RTÉ workers have applied for a voluntary exit programme as the broadcaster aims to cut staff numbers by up to 400. The scheme that opened last month closed today. Payments for those who leave will be capped at €300,000. Workers who are approved will leave the organisation by the end of this year. In an email to staff this evening, RTÉ director general Kevin Bakhurst said the voluntary exit programme (VEP) was now closed. 'I can confirm that we received a total of 325 applications,' he said. 'As you know, this VEP comprises a Voluntary Severance (VS) and Voluntary Early Retirement (VER) scheme and was open to employees who will have completed at least two years' continuous service on the date their employment ceases.' News in 90 Seconds - May 23rd He said applications would be approved only where a robust business case was made, and it could be confirmed that the role can be suppressed or that equivalent savings can be made by suppressing an alternative post and, or redeploying an employee into that role. Mr Bakhurst said applicants could choose to accept or decline an offer of VS or VER. 'Where decisions are straightforward and approved by RTÉ's leadership team and the RTÉ board's Remuneration and Management Committee, we will make every effort to allow these people leave the organisation as early as is practical, without unduly impacting our operations,' he said. 'All applications will go through a five-stage review process throughout the coming months, as previously outlined, with final decisions on all applications being made by the leadership team and final oversight by the RTÉ board's Remuneration and Management Committee.' He said a review of applications had already begun. Mr Bakhurst said while there may be exceptions, communication of final decisions would start from September 1, 'with exits of successful applicants taking place on October 31, November 30 and December 31'. Staff with over two years' continuous service on their departure date are eligible to apply. Those with between two and five years of service will receive four weeks' pay per year of service. Those with five to 10 years' service will receive five weeks' pay per year of service. Those working at RTÉ for more than 10 years will get six weeks' pay for every year of service. In a previous email to staff, Mr Bakhurst said any future exit scheme could be less financially beneficial than this one. He confirmed that the Department of Public Expenditure had given RTÉ approval to open the scheme this year. Senior management are not eligible to apply. The exit scheme was part of RTÉ's five-year strategy announced in 2023.
RTÉ News
23-05-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
RTÉ receives 325 applications for voluntary exit scheme
RTÉ has said that it received 325 applications for its Voluntary Exit Programme (VEP). Staff members who are approved for the scheme will leave the organisation by the end of this year. RTÉ Director General Kevin Bakhurst said in an email to staff this evening that the "VEP comprises a Voluntary Severance (VS) and Voluntary Early Retirement (VER) scheme and was open to employees who will have completed at least two years' continuous service on the date their employment ceases". He said that applications will be approved where "it is confirmed that the role can be suppressed or that equivalent savings can be made by suppressing an alternative post and/or redeploying an employee into that role". Applicants will have the choice to accept or decline an offer of VS or VER. Mr Bakhurst said a review of the applications has already commenced. He said the successful applicants will leave RTÉ on 31 October, 30 November or 31 December. The VEP comes as part of a five-year strategy announced in 2023 where the broadcaster outlined a plan to reduce staff numbers by up to 400. To be eligible, employees had to have completed at least two years of continuous service on the date they would leave the organisation under the scheme, with payments capped at €300,000. Staff with between two and five years' of service will receive four weeks of pay per year of service. Those with five to ten years' of service will receive five weeks of pay per year, and employees working with RTÉ for more than ten years will get six weeks' pay for every year of service. The payments will be based on an employee's exit salary and they will not qualify for any further redundancy. In an email to staff when the scheme opened, Mr Bakhurst said that while the Department of Public Expenditure had given RTÉ approval to operate a VEP this year, any future scheme could be less financially beneficial than this one. Senior management were not eligible to apply. The approval of a redundancy plan at RTÉ by the Government was confirmed on 28 March.
Irish Independent
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Independent
More than 2,300 school secretaries begin ballot on strike action
A spokesperson at Fórsa, which represents school secretaries in primary and secondary schools, said the ballot began today. It is part of a campaign to enable school secretaries to become member of a public service pension scheme. Union officials said they are excluded from the pension scheme despite joining the Department of Education's centralised payroll in 2023. Andy Pike, Fórsa's head of education, said a union agreement with the department in 2023 successfully standardised pay and conditions for school secretaries, ending years of disparity in pay, contracts, and job security. 'It was a landmark agreement, marking a major step forward in recognising the critical role of school secretaries in our education system,' he said. 'However, the agreement did not include pension provision under the Single Public Service Pension Scheme, and this has left a significant gap in the effort to achieve full equality.' He said pension justice is an inseparable part of the process of regularising school secretaries into Department of Education employment. Mr Pike said they must be afforded the same pension entitlements as other public service workers. 'School secretaries are highly skilled and dedicated professionals,' he said. He said they play a central role in the daily operations of every school and provide crucial leadership in every school community. ADVERTISEMENT 'That school secretaries remain excluded from the public service pension scheme undermines the progress already made,' he said. He said the ballot reflects members' determination to see the process through to its conclusion. Mr Pike said Fórsa is urging the Department of Education and the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform to re-engage meaningfully on the matter. 'A fair and equitable resolution must be reached,' he said. 'School secretaries deserve to be treated in the same way as other public service workers under the department's remit.' The ballot will end on Tuesday, June 11.
RTÉ News
20-05-2025
- Politics
- RTÉ News
School secretaries balloted for strike action in pensions row
The Fórsa trade union has commenced a ballot of school secretaries for indefinite strike action in a dispute over pensions. The union represents more than 2,300 school secretaries in primary and secondary schools. Fórsa said the move to ballot for indefinite strike action reflects the level of frustration with the continued exclusion of school secretaries from the public service pension scheme. Fórsa's Head of Education Andy Pike said a 2023 agreement with the Department of Education successfully standardised pay and conditions for school secretaries, ending years of disparity in pay, contracts, and job security. "However, the agreement did not include pension provision under the Single Public Service Pension scheme, and this has left a significant gap in the effort to achieve full equality," Mr Pike said. "Fórsa has consistently argued that pension justice is an essential and inseparable part of the process of regularising school secretaries into Department of Education employment," he added. Fórsa said it is continuing to urge the Department of Education and the Department of Public Expenditure to re-engage meaningfully on the matter. The ballot will conclude on Tuesday 11 June.
Extra.ie
14-05-2025
- Business
- Extra.ie
Cuts to pay for housing refugees will cost the state more
Cuts to payments for pledged accommodation for Ukrainian refugees mean the State may have to pay millions more to house them in hotels, guesthouses and B&Bs. Internal documents obtained by show officials in the Department of Public Expenditure are concerned about the knock-on effects from cutting the monthly payment from €800 to €600 in February. In a memo prepared for Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers, they warned that 'there is a risk this could undermine ongoing efforts to reduce reliance on expensive commercial accommodation'. Pic: Gareth Chaney/Collins Photos Integration Minister Norma Foley wrote to Mr Chambers in February seeking to reduce the Accommodation Recognition Payment (ARP), a cut that takes effect from June. Ms Foley said the reduction sought to 'balance' maintaining the scheme 'while minimising interference with the private rental market'. She added: 'Reducing the payment will facilitate winding down the scheme in an orderly way in advance of the Temporary Protection Directive [which is due to lapse in March 2026]. 'I believe this approach will help to manage expectations of pledgers, BOTPs [Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection] and NGOs supporting them.' No business case was provided by Ms Foley to support the decision. An estimate of the savings associated with the change was requested by Department of Public Expenditure officials, but none was provided. Pic: Shutterstock The officials provided their own high-level analysis of three potential scenarios for Mr Chambers, telling him over 1,000 people each month had been added to the scheme in the past year. 'There is clearly very strong demand for the scheme. It may be the case that the 25% cut will have a limited impact, particularly when it will still remain above the initial rate of €400,' they wrote. In a scenario where the cut resulted in a 10% drop in additional people availing of the ARP each month from April, it would cost an extra € 7 million by the end of the year. This would amount to a rise of 100 people in commercial accommodation who otherwise would have been in pledged accommodation. In the second scenario, where 25% fewer additional people availed of the scheme, it would cost € 18 million more by the end of 2024. In the final scenario, which assumed a flatline of people in the ARP, this could lead to an increase in cost of € 76 million. Pic: Shutterstock However, the officials noted that 'this seems somewhat unlikely given the demand for the scheme to date'. The official noted work to reduce Ukrainians in commercial accommodation since October meant the fallout from the monthly rate cut could be met in the existing budget. The note says the Department of Integration told them a political 'consensus' was reached after discussions between Ms Foley, Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Minister of State at the Department of Justice Colm Brophy. Asked for their view on the impact of the measure, Department of Integration officials said they believed there would be an impact but it was 'impossible to quantify'. 'Some host applicants may close their applications and BOTPs will need to move elsewhere,' they wrote. Pic: Getty Images The officials conceded there would be a 'significant cost' if there was a reduction in the level of pledged accommodation, and Ukrainians had to find accommodation in the 'already straitened private rental market or seek to secure State contracted accommodation'. 'If the latter was to transpire, this would result in significant additional costs and may be at variance with the department's intended policy,' they wrote. The Integration Department suggested Ukrainians could make a 'top-up' payment to their hosts to bridge the gap rather than have the tenancy terminated, but this was 'between the parties themselves'. 'It should also be noted that pledged properties (many of which would fall under ARP) provide a valuable exit mechanism from the 90-day Designated Accommodation Centres for BOTPs who arrived post March 2024, and who are not entitled to State-contracted accommodation,' the officials also wrote. The memo says that between July 2022 and December 2024, around € 364 million was paid out via the scheme, with € 141 million of this in 2024. In comparison, the Department of Integration spent € 1.143 billion on its Ukraine response in 2024, with the biggest driver being commercial/ serviced accommodation. As of February 18, 2025, there were 26,937 Ukrainians in commercial/received accommodation (e.g. hotels and guesthouses). This is down from a peak of 59,000 in November 2023. In response to Ms Foley's request, Mr Chambers said he consented to the reduction, but that an analysis of the impacts needed to be undertaken. 'I would highlight the potential risk of this proposal possibly reducing the number of Ukrainians moving out of commercial accommodation, which is significantly more expensive per night,' he wrote. Former integration minister Roderic O'Gorman told 'These documents from [Public Expenditure] show the lack of a clear economic rationale for the decision to reduce the recognition payment, which keeps thousands of Ukrainians out of directly provided State accommodation, which we know is far more expensive.' A Department of Justice spokesman said: 'Although the reduction has been flagged for some months, the number of ARP applications has continued to increase. As of May 11, 2025, there are active claims in payment for over 21,000 properties, an increase from some 19,800 at the end of February.'
