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IMPACT biennial report 2008–2010

Defending jobs, incomes and services

FRONT COVERMary O’Connell and Iona McGloin from IMPACT’s Kerry branch at the union’s local government,education and local services divisional conference in Castlebar, County Mayo in May 2009.

FRONT COVER PHOTODylan Vaughan

IMPACT biennial report 2008–2010

Defending jobs, incomes and services

Members of IMPACT’s central executive committee and staffFirst row: (left to right) Michael Tomney, Patricia Walsh, Tom Murray, Isabell Murphy, Dolores Callanan,

Adrienne Byrne, Joe May, Kevin O’Malley. Second row: Anna Leonard (finance officer), Paddy Keating (national secretary), Jerry King, Finbarr O’Driscoll,

Alice Hennessy, Peter McLoone (general secretary). Third row: Margaret Coughlan, Bobby Carty, Kevin Callinan (deputy general secretary designate) Sophia O’Reilly,

Louise O’Donnell (national secretary), Charlie Gantley, Pierce Dillon. Fourth row: Francis Byrne, Eugene Dunne, Peter Nolan (national secretary),

Andy Walsh, Mick Scully, John Power (president), Gerry Monaghan, Shay Cody (general secretary designate), Matt Staunton (national secretary designate).

Fifth row: Billy Gallagher.

Defending jobs, incomes and servicesWhen I wrote the introduction to our last biennial report early in 2008, I

referred to Ireland’s “slowing economy.” At that time, nobody was

predicting the economic mayhem that would follow the collapse of

Lehman Brothers bank later that same year. And that includes the

professional economists who, in the months that followed, happily

recommended deep cuts to public services, ordinary incomes and

welfare payments.

IMPACT members have been at the sharp end of the economic collapse

caused by recklessness and greed in the banking and property sector,

which the Government failed to control and regulate. Public servants

have suffered two pay cuts totalling 14% on average, the recruitment

and promotions moratorium and cuts in services. IMPACT members in

the voluntary and community sector have seen widespread job losses

and pay cuts. Our people in the private and commercial semi-state

sector have been dealing with similar assaults on their jobs, working

conditions and incomes.

The one big positive of 2009-2010 has been the response of IMPACT members, activists and staff across the

country. We were all disappointed – and shocked – when our industrial action ballot fell slightly short of the

required two-thirds majority last March. But, together with the attack on our members’ incomes and the

media assault on the work and reputation of public servants, it galvanised the organisation at all levels.

As a result, our workplace meetings over the summer of 2009 reached well over 10,000 individual members.

A massive 20% of IMPACT members turned out to the huge ICTU march against the so-called pension levy

and other aspects of the Government’s response to the crisis. And members’ response to our second

industrial action ballot and subsequent one-day strike was tremendous.

All this, plus the day-to-day commitment of everyone associated with the union, has held the organisation

together during the most difficult time our members have endured for decades. I want to thank each and

every one of you and I urge you not to underestimate what we have achieved together. Our opponents – in

politics, among employers, or in the media and other parts of big business – would like nothing more than

to see IMPACT and other unions becoming casualties of a crisis we didn’t create. Because that would allow

them to unwind all the protections and advances that unions have delivered over the decades.

Two years later, we are still in a time of great difficulty and uncertainty. None of us really knows how

the economic situation will unfold. None of us have the faith and trust that is required of government

in such uncharted times. But we have demonstrated an impressive unity and a determination to keep

working together in the defence of our members, the services they provide to the public and the

trade union they depend on for protection. That’s something of real value that we can and

will build on.

Peter McLooneIMPACT General Secretary

Occupational therapist Damien Kidd helped savethe taxpayer €2.3 million by changing and

improving the way work was done. The community occupational therapy service in Kildare and west Wicklow got the

go-ahead to commence a scheme to reclaim and recycle unused occupational therapyequipment and develop the capacity for in-house delivery, servicing and repairs.

ContentsYour income ....................7Public service pay campaign ..............................7Benchmarking ................................................10Minimum wage ..............................................10Community sector pay......................................11Pensions ........................................................11Travel and subsistence ....................................11Public service staffing......................................12McCarthy report ..............................................12Employment and equity....................................12

Your union and your rights ..15Recruitment and organisation ..........................15Staffing ..........................................................15Staff pay and conditions ..................................15Training ..........................................................16Communications ..............................................16Defending public servants ................................16Youth committee..............................................17UPTCS history ................................................17Irish Congress of Trade Unions ..........................17Supporting the community................................17Europe ............................................................17Developing world fund ....................................18Safety at work ................................................19Finance and administration ..............................19Corporate governance ......................................20Equal opportunities ..........................................20Retired members ............................................20

Civil service ..................23Performance management................................23Decentralisation ..............................................23Work-life balance............................................23Bereavement leave..........................................23Shorter working year scheme ..........................23Incentivised early retirement scheme................24McKenna judgement ........................................24Créches ..........................................................24Disabilities ......................................................24Health and safety ............................................24Travel and subsistence ....................................24Cycle to work scheme......................................25Grievance procedure ........................................25Arbitration board and adjudicator......................25Disciplinary code appeals board........................25Staff panel and general council ........................25

Health and welfare ........27Public service campaign ..................................27HSE reorganisation ..........................................27Recruitment moratorium ..................................27Redeployment ................................................27Staff schemes ................................................27HSE national service plan ................................27Employee engagement ....................................28Expert group on resource allocation ..................28Flu pandemic ..................................................28Medical card centralisation ..............................28Community welfare service..............................29Standardised leave ..........................................29Building union strength ....................................29

Local government ..........31Partnership......................................................31Local government reform ................................31Services and job losses....................................31Recruitment moratorium ..................................31Clerical and admin grades ................................32Fire services....................................................32Libraries..........................................................32Revenue collectors ..........................................32Social workers ................................................32Vocational groups ............................................32Fixed-term workers ........................................32

Education ................................32Educational disadvantage ................................32Education centres ............................................33Institutes of technology....................................33National educational welfare branch ................33School completion programme..........................33School secretaries ..........................................33Special needs assistants ..................................34Vocational educational committees ..................34

Municipal employees ....37Waste management ........................................37Pay ................................................................37Jobs ..............................................................38Partnership......................................................39

Services and enterprises ....41Coillte ............................................................41Communications ..............................................41Aviation ..........................................................42Community sector............................................43Non-commercial semi-state agencies ..............43

Appendices ..................451. Mileage and subsistence ..........................462. Branch secretaries ....................................483. Vocational groups ....................................514. Central executive committee ....................545. Divisional executive committees................556. Staff ........................................................567. ICTU and other affiliations ........................588. Extracts from IMPACT accounts ................59

Almost a third of IMPACT’s members attended the demonstration against the so-called ‘pension levy’ and other aspects of the Government’s handling of the recession in February 2009.

Your income

Public service pay campaignIMPACT was seeking clarification of aspects of a proposed agreement on public service pay and reforms as

this report went to press. The proposals, which were negotiated with the assistance of senior Labour Relations

Commission staff in March 2010, include commitments that there would be no further public service pay cuts

and a commitment that the 2009-2010 pay cuts can begin to be reversed when savings arise from detailed

public service transformation measures, which are also outlined in the proposed deal. Lower paid workers

would get priority once the reversal of the pay cuts began.

The so-called Croke Park proposals also include a commitment that there will be no compulsory redundancies

so long as unions and their members agree to new redeployment arrangements. And there are commitments

to the provision of public services through direct labour, which would guard against outsourcing unless it’s

justified on the basis of quality as well as cost.

The proposals were negotiated after a difficult year, which saw the introduction of an average 7% ‘pension levy’

in March 2009 and pay cuts averaging 7% from January 2010. Talks on the second phase of the Towards 2016

agreement had begun in April 2008 with unions seeking a deal that protected living standards from inflation,

as well as a number of non-pay measures centred on workplace and representational rights. IMPACT also led

public service unions in seeking a new system of public service pay determination after the second report of

the Public Service Benchmarking Body recommended no increases for most.

The talks broke down in August 2008 over the pay terms and employer demands for stronger ‘inability to pay’

clauses. Negotiations resumed in September 2008 and resulted in a transitional agreement with pay increases

worth 6% over 21 months, with an extra 0.5% for those earning less than €11 an hour. The deal, which included

an 11-month public service pay pause and a three-month pay pause in private and commercial semi-state

companies, was accepted by a margin of 91%-9% in a national ballot of IMPACT members. But the agreed

increases have not been paid in the public service or most private companies or semi-state and voluntary

sector organisations.

The sudden and rapid worsening of the economy and public finances at the end of 2008 led to a resumption

of meetings between the social partners in December, with the objective of agreeing an approach to economic

recovery. Although the budgetary crisis was not caused by public servants or public service pay, ICTU

economists acknowledged that up to 20% of Ireland’s tax had become dependent on the finance, property and

construction sectors, which had collapsed leaving a massive hole in Government income. The problem quickly

worsened as growing unemployment rapidly reduced the tax take even further and increased spending on

social welfare and related medical and other costs. Entering the talks, the employers’ body IBEC said it believed

the pay deal was defunct while the Government was focused exclusively on the need to save €2 billion in

public spending in 2009; a saving it wanted to make predominantly from payroll costs. From the outset,

IMPACT resisted the Government’s preferred option of a 10% across-the-board cut in public service pay in

2009 alone and made clear that it would not negotiate cuts in core pay or pension benefits.

So-called ‘pension levy’The talks collapsed without agreement in February 2009 after Government officials presented unions with a

proposal for a public service levy averaging 7.5% of gross earnings, minus tax relief, across the public service.

The Government proposal also included the deferral of the public service Towards 2016 pay increases and a

25% across-the-board reduction in travel and subsistence rates. IMPACT then led a massive campaign of

political lobbying, which was supported by other public service unions and involved hundreds of IMPACT

members and others. This culminated in national newspaper adverts and a mass lobby of TDs’ constituencies

in the middle of February. IMPACT also sought legal advice on the imposition of the so-called ‘pension levy’.

7IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010

The union also put a massive mobilisation effort into ICTU’s national demonstration on 21st February 2009,

in which over a third of the union’s members participated in an event that attracted well over 120,000

protesters. Four days later, almost all ICTU unions including IMPACT announced that they would ballot their

members for industrial action over the Government’s approach to the economic crisis, including the levy, and

the Government and employers’ decision to abandon the national agreement. Unions from both the public and

private sectors agreed that the industrial action would begin with a one-day stoppage on 30th March.

Nevertheless, the Government rushed through legislation to impose the so-called ‘pension levy’, which became

effective on 1st March 2009.

ICTU’s 30th March stoppage was deferred after its Executive Council accepted an invitation to re-enter talks

aimed at reaching an agreed national partnership framework for dealing with the economic crisis. The

Taoiseach’s invitation followed extensive behind-the-scenes work by senior ICTU representatives, including

IMPACT general secretary Peter McLoone who insisted that changes to the pension levy must form part of the

negotiation. IMPACT also said it wanted an agreed framework to deal with budget shortfalls in various sectors

of the public service and state agencies.

Just prior to this, IMPACT’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) decided that it had no basis to sanction

participation in the 30th March stoppage after its members voted in favour of industrial action by a margin of

65% in favour and 35% against, which was marginally short of the two-thirds majority required under the

union’s Rule 25, which deals with industrial action ballots.

Union prioritiesFollowing extensive consultation, which included a joint meeting of the CEC and all five DECs, a consultative

council meeting, staff meetings, and the union’s 2009 divisional conferences, the CEC adopted the following

statement of campaign priorities in May 2009:

“While there is a need for flexibility in IMPACT’s response, so that we can deal with new threats and opportunities as they arise, there isconsensus that all IMPACT activities should be focused on the following priorities:

● The protection of members’ pay, including agreed allowances, and the ongoing campaign to reverse the public service levy

● The protection of the value of public service pensions, including the existing taxation arrangements, and of pension rights inthe private, voluntary and state sectors

● The protection of jobs, which is essential both to members’ livelihoods and to the provision of quality public services

● The protection of core working conditions, including health and safety, while recognising the need for flexibility to maintain thedelivery of public services during the economic crisis

● The protection of public services during the recession and the pursuit of increased investment as the economy recovers.”

The failure to carry the March industrial action ballot led the union to organise hundreds of workplace meetings

over the summer of 2009, which were attended by over 10,000 members in total. A second industrial action

ballot in September-October 2009 achieved a massive 86% endorsement of strike action on a 69% turnout. In

October the union also launched a €450,000 advertising campaign, aimed at bolstering its defence of public

services and the people who provide them. Full-page newspaper ads appeared on 7th October and a massive

billboard advertising campaign was unveiled in major cities and towns across the country. This was followed

up with advertising inside buses and DART trains, a leaflet drop to over a million households, and a ‘viral’

campaign using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and the IMPACT website.

StrikeA 24-hour public service strike took place on 24th November 2009 involving IMPACT and other public service

unions. That afternoon the ICTU Public Services Committee (PSC) announced that it had agreed to re-enter talks

with Government representatives after receiving the first indication that the Government might negotiate an

alternative to the imposition of pay cuts.

8 IMPACT biennial report 2008-2010

Your income

IMPACT entered the talks on the basis of the priorities set out above, but recognised that any agreement would

have to find alternative payroll savings. The unions said this could be done through a transformation of public

services, which would generate huge savings while protecting services as budgets and staff numbers declined,

plus agreed temporary measures to cut payroll costs in 2010 because the transformation was unlikely to

generate the necessary savings before 2011.

Negotiations about the transformation of public services were conducted at sectoral level between unions

and senior officials from Government departments and employer bodies in health, local government,

education, the civil service and non-commercial semi-state bodies. Between the end of November and early

December the talks had progressed so far that negotiators on both sides had finalised texts on transformation,

which would have formed agreements in each sector subject to an overall deal being concluded.

The transformation statements, which described what was to happen in each sector, were underpinned by an

agreement on the redeployment of staff. The agreement also provided for the establishment of a commission,

with independent leadership, to drive the implemen tation of the reforms to ensure that early and robust

outcomes were assured – including mechanisms for binding outcomes where disagreements arose.

The introduction of 12 days compulsory unpaid leave was to be introduced, on a once-off basis, to generate

the required payroll savings in 2010. It was agreed that these would be implemented in ways that avoided any

adverse impact on services. It was accepted by both sides that the value of the unpaid leave would not be

redeemable by staff at any time in the future, and that the measure would not have negatively impacted on

those retiring from the public service.

Government renegesThe cabinet discussed the proposal at its meeting of 1st December and, following that meeting, the employers’

side confirmed to the unions that, although an overall agreement had not yet been reached, the Government

accepted that the unpaid leave proposal could form the basis of a deal. As the agreement was being finalised,

the ICTU Public Services Committee decided to suspend a second one-day strike planed for 3rd December.

Agreement between unions and employers was subsequently reached on the application of the unpaid leave

in ways that ensured no adverse impact on services. But at the final meeting between Government

representatives and senior ICTU negotiators the employers’ side said that they had fully briefed the

Government that morning, and that the Government had decided not to proceed with the agreement. This

despite the employers’ side acknowledging that the unpaid leave mechanism could yield €986 million in payroll

savings in 2010 through an agreed progressive valuation of the unpaid leave. When combined with the impact

of reduced availability of overtime in 2010, because of the introduction of unpaid leave, and savings arising

from the implementation of the Report of the Review Body on Higher Remuneration, the employers’ side

accepted that this measure would have enabled the Government to comfortably reach its stated target for

payroll savings in 2010. This would be in addition to 2010 savings of €2.4 billion though the so-called pension

levy, the continuation of the incentivised scheme for early retirement, and the ongoing moratorium on public

service recruitment. The employers’ side also accepted that the Government’s objective on transformation

would have been achieved through the sectoral documents.

In the end, the Government’s decision to reject the deal revealed that its determination to drive down wages

in the public and private sectors was the unshakeable cornerstone of its economic and social policy. The 2010

Budget introduced pay cuts averaging 7% across the public service, although this was subsequently drastically

reduced for a small number of senior civil and public service managers. IMPACT sought legal advice on the

imposition of the pay cuts. IMPACT and other unions strongly criticised the Budget which, according to ICTU

calculations, took just €73 million from millionaires but over €760 million from social welfare recipients.

Croke Park talksFollowing the pay cuts, IMPACT served public service employers with notice of industrial action, which began

at the end of January 2010. The action stopped cooperation with any new work practices or modernisation

measures, introduced a ‘work to rule,’ and blocked work carried out on a voluntary basis outside of members’

formal contracts of employment. It also required members to refuse to cooperate with staff redeployment or

take on work associated with newly vacant posts or unfilled promotional posts, and refuse to perform higher

duties without the payment of appropriate allowances. On 8th March the ICTU Public Services Committee

announced that there would be a second phase of the industrial action, which would include selective strikes

and other forms of disruptive action.


Your income

On foot of this, renewed discussions between public service management and unions got underway on 12th

March. The talks were facilitated by Kieran Mulvey, Kevin Foley and other senior Labour Relations Commission

staff. At the request of Kieran Mulvey, the unions agreed not to escalate the industrial action while the talks

were underway, but the work-to-rule remained in place. The talks concluded in the early hours of 30th March

2010 and IMPACT sought clarifications on aspects of the proposals that emerged following its Central Executive

Committee (CEC) meeting of 15th April. The CEC decided that IMPACT members should have maximum

information and clarity before being asked to vote on the package.


Your income

Overpaid public servants?The media says public servants have a cushy number and haven’t

shouldered the burden of the recession. The Government says it’s against fair

taxes for the wealthy as they would be a ‘disincentive’ to work. But look at the

extra compulsory deductions that most public servants are paying

compared to February 2009:

● Pay cuts: Pay reduced for all public servants by between 5% and 16% since January 2009

● ‘Pension levy’: Reduced salaries by 6.5% to 8% for most public servants

● Pension contributions: Typically amount to 6.5% of salary for those paying

modified PRSI and 3-5.5% for those paying full PRSI

● PRSI: Typically 4% for full PRSI payers and 0.9% for modified PRSI payers

● Health levy: Increased by 2% in 2009. Now 4% for most public servants

● Income levy: The 2% rate applies to most public servants

● Income tax: 20% or 41% depending on income level and personal circumstances.

These deductions amount to an average of 30% of salary for most public servants.

But the marginal rate that applies to the highest level of your income - assuming

you were to get an increment or a promotion - is typically 60% for staff paid

€40,000 or over and 42% for those earning €30,000.

Use these figures next time someone tells you you’re making no

contribution to clearing up the mess created by the top bankers,

speculators and property developers. And the politicians who

failed to regulate them. And the media that failed to

question their fat tax breaks and shady dealings.

BenchmarkingA small number of pay increases recommended by the Public Service Benchmarking Body in its report of

December 2007 have not been implemented.

Minimum wageThe statutory minimum wage has not been increased since July 2007 and currently stands at €8.65 an hour.

Employers' organisations are lobbying hard for a reduction in the rate, which they claim is the second highest

in the EU. However, when countries that set their minimum wages through agreement rather than legislation

are factored in, the Irish minimum wage falls to sixth place. When rates are adjusted to take account of

purchasing power, the Irish minimum wage falls to ninth place in the EU. Meanwhile, the Government is

preparing to change the law to allow employers plead ‘inability to pay’ minimum pay rates set out in existing

Employment Regulation Orders (EROs) and Registered Employment Agreements (REAs), which set minimum

pay rates in certain sectors.

Community sector payIMPACT has been working with SIPTU and the Community Sector Employers’ Forum to resist funding and

pay cuts in the community and voluntary sector and the union has taken a number of cases under the Payment

of Wages Act where voluntary agencies have moved to impose pay cuts. Hundreds of IMPACT members were

among 12,000 people who marched in Dublin against the cuts in September 2009.

When the Government introduced its public service pay cuts in December 2009, it was immediately forced to

amend the legislation because it had illegally imposed the pay cuts on thousands of community and voluntary

sector workers who are not employed directly by the state. Subsequently, the Health Service Executive (HSE)

instructed the community and voluntary sector agencies it funds to apply the public service pay cuts and said

2010 funding would reflect this. Although Tánaiste Mary Coughlan told the Dáil that the HSE letter had been

sent in error, the HSE continued to seek to impose the policy and proceed with funding cuts. There is more

detail on community sector pay in the services and enterprises chapter of this report.

PensionsSignificant changes in pension arrangements for new entrants to the public service were announced in the 2010

Budget. The Government also announced that it was considering significant proposals for an end to the current

link between pay increases and pension increases and move to inflation-based pension increases for both

existing and future pensioners. Neither was discussed with the unions and IMPACT has indicated its strong

opposition to any change in pension terms including arrangements for indexation of pensions in retirement.

Legal advice was sought on the matter.

The Government’s main proposed provisions for the new single scheme for new entrants include raising the

minimum public service pension age from 65 to 66 years, setting a maximum retirement age of 70 years and

basing pensions on ‘career average’ earnings rather than final salary as currently applies. Career average

pension terms apply in the British civil service and the accrual rate used and the method of revaluation

determines whether they represent an improvement or disimprovement.

It is proposed that other details of the single new scheme would be considered by Government in finalising

relevant legislation following consultation between the Department of Finance and public service employers

and unions. In developing the new scheme the Government says it will be considering the rate of employee

pension contribution, the pension accrual rate applying to pensionable pay taking account of entitlement to a

state pension, and fast accrual terms for those grades with early retirement ages. The unions have decided to

engage with the management side in an industrial relations framework, as opposed to a consultative process,

with the right to refer certain areas of disagreement to the Labour Relations Commission and the Labour Court.

IMPACT has had to confront very serious pension’s problems in employments with funded schemes in the

commercial state, private and community and voluntary sectors. Serious deficits have arisen generally from

a combination of inadequate funding, poor fund performance, increased longevity and pay and pension

increased exceeding actuary’s assumptions.

Travel and subsistenceIn March 2009 the Government imposed revised rates that cut travel and subsistence payments by 25% across

the board as part of its measures to reduce public spending. IMPACT has since lodged a claim at civil service

General Council. The union says that the cuts breached the agreed formula for assessing travel and subsistence

rates. The claim was rejected by management and is now awaiting a hearing at arbitration. No date has been

received yet for the hearing.


Your income


Your income

Public service staffingIn March 2009, the Department of Finance issued draconian employment controls across the public services,

which included the following measures:

● A general moratorium on recruitment, promotions and acting appointments to almost all grades

● The application of this general moratorium to fixed-term posts and to the renewal of fixed-term contracts

● The requirement of prior sanction from the finance minister, on an “exceptional basis,” for the filling of any post covered by themoratorium

● Any such filling to be achieved through redeployment.

IMPACT immediately sought clarification of how it was proposed to interpret and implement the circular and

expressed strong concerns about their negative impact on services and staff. Incentivised early retirement

and career break schemes were also introduced in 2009. Between them the measures resulted in thousands

of public service job losses in 2009 and 2010.

McCarthy report and OECD report on Irish public servicesIn November 2008, the Government established a group to make proposals on the reallocation and

rationalisation of public service staff on foot of an earlier OECD report on Ireland’s public services. This four-

person ‘special group on public service numbers and expenditure programmes’ was made up of economists

and ex-bankers and was chaired by Colm McCarthy. It reported in July 2009. The economist claimed his

recommendations for a cut of 17,300 staff and the rationalisation of state agencies would save €5.3 billion or

9.3% of current spending. Describing the job cuts as “the minimum that must be achieved,” he said compulsory

redundancies and relocation could be necessary in the health sector.

Although pay was not part of its terms of reference, the report said there should be a new benchmarking

exercise with international comparisons of public service pay rates, which could recommend reductions in

public service pay. The report also recommended cutting bonuses and premium payments and measures to

drastically reduce the value of public service pensions including raising the minimum pension age, increasing

staff contributions, modifying the earnings link, removing fast accrual rates and calculating pensions on ‘career

average’ rather than final salary. It said these measures would not bring immediate savings “unless they are

applied to the existing cadre of public servants and pensioners.” It called for “an appropriate contribution” to

come from existing public service pensioners, as well as an increase in pension age for public servants and

state pensioners.

The report again strayed from its terms of reference by making recommendations on a range of industrial

relations issues including the abolition of the ‘common recruitment pool’ and the tearing up of a range of

agreements covering working conditions, particularly in the health area.

From the morning before the report was published, IMPACT launched a pro-active media response that gained

massive coverage in press and broadcast media in the week after the report’s launch. IMPACT strongly attacked

the report’s recommendations for displaying no understanding of the needs of citizens or the challenges of

public service delivery. It said the Government was not bound by the report, which targeted the most

vulnerable in society and threatened poorer services for all with no contribution from those who caused the

recession through their greed and recklessness.

Employment and equityUnited behind an Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) strategy, IMPACT campaigned for a ‘social solidarity’

framework for economic recovery. As part of its ‘Better, Fairer Way’ campaign, which focuses on the economy,

jobs, incomes and public service, ICTU called a day of action on 6th November 2009 with street protests in

Dublin and elsewhere. ICTU also launched a nationwide advertising campaign as part of its campaign of

opposition to Government attempts to place the burden of economic adjustment entirely on working people

and welfare recipients. You can read more on www.getupstandup.ie. IMPACT’s Communications Unit

contributed to the production of Shifting the Burden, an ICTU critique of Government policy on pay, pensions

and benefits published in March 2010.

IMPACT members helped launch IMPACT’s pioneering public service campaign in 2009.

Pictured are: Amanda O’Hara, Teresa Hudson, Margaret Keane, Eileen Brennan, Fionnuala Kelly.

IMPACT general secretary designate Shay Cody launched the Charter Group publication on the Lisbon treaty and workplace rights.


Your union and your rights

Recruitment and organisationIMPACT had over 63,600 members at the end of December 2009, compared to 58,000 at the end of 2007, an

increase of over 9%. However, the union expects membership numbers to drop in the coming years because

of the moratorium on public service recruitment and the effects of the recession on private companies and

voluntary sector organisations. The union has to recruit around 4,000 members each year just to replace those

who leave through retirement or other reasons. Recruitment and organisation remain a top priority for IMPACT

staff and branches.

StaffingNational secretary Tom Brady retired in December 2009 and Peter McLoone is to retire from his post as IMPACT

general secretary in the second half of 2010. The post of general secretary designate was advertised in the

national press and, following interviews, the Central Executive Committee (CEC) appointed Shay Cody as

general secretary designate. The appointment has to be ratified by the 2010 biennial delegate conference.

Following Shay’s appointment, current IMPACT national secretary for health Kevin Callinan won a competition

to become the new deputy general secretary designate. He will assume the role of deputy once Shay takes over

as general secretary.

It was subsequently announced that the current national secretary for the civil service, Louise O’Donnell, will

take on the Health and Welfare portfolio when Kevin moves into his new role. Two new national secretaries,

Eamonn Donnelly and Matt Staunton, were also appointed following a competition. Matt will replace Shay in

his services and enterprises division role and Eamonn will replace Louise in the civil service.

Josephine Fogerty (May 2009), Stella Griffin (January 2010) and Janet Hughes (September 2009) were app -

ointed as assistant general secretaries. Executive assistant Vera Smyth retired in April 2009 after working in

the union for over 40 years.

It was with great sadness that IMPACT members and staff heard of the death of former general secretary

Harold O’Sullivan who died on 20th October 2009.

Staff pay and conditionsThe pay and conditions of IMPACT staff are related to local government grades. Clerical staff are related to local

government clerical and administrative grades III to VII. Industrial staff are related to the following grades:

General secretary (Cork county manager); deputy general secretary (county manager, bottom grade); national

secretaries (assistant county manager, lowest scale). Assistant general secretaries are paid the same as county

secretaries. The full scales are available on the IMPACT website.

Although IMPACT staff are not covered by the legislation that introduced the public service pay cuts, senior

staff have opted to take a voluntary pay cut to reflect the pay cuts imposed on their related public service

grades.

The IMPACT staff pension scheme is a contributory funded scheme and staff have paid a contribution of 9.5%

of gross salary for many years. Like most other private funded schemes, the IMPACT scheme is in deficit. The

scheme benefits aspire to match the main, but not all, provisions of the public service pension schemes.

However, benefits are not guaranteed.

Staff travel and subsistence is paid in accordance with civil service regulations. The relevant travel and

subsistence rates are set out in appendix two of this report and the total expenditure on staff travel and

subsistence is set out in appendix eight.



TrainingIMPACT continued to increase the amount of training it provides to activists and will continue to do so in

future. In a special training project with SIPTU and the TEEU, the union secured significant funding from

Skillnets, the state-funded agency set up to help companies develop more relevant and effective answers to

their training and development needs. This funding will be substantially reduced in 2010. IMPACT has also

worked with a number of other unions in the ‘women at work’ Skillnet. The traditional limited funding from

FÁS, which came to the union via ICTU, is unlikely to be available in future.

Training courses provided in the past two years included employment law, leadership, conflict resolution,

communication skills, equal opportunities, health and safety, workplace representatives’ skills, new members’

training, and courses for new activists and newer branch officers. Some specialist off-the-shelf training

modules have been developed and made available to branches. Distance learning courses are being developed

to facilitate all members to access specialist training, irrespective of location. A dedicated web-based resource

is being tested. This will provide training and other relevant resource materials and information for activists.

CommunicationsThe new IMPACT magazine Work & Life was launched at the 2008 biennial delegate conference and has been

well received by members and branches. The quarterly magazine is supplemented by monthly e-bulletins.

Originally designed for branch activists, the e-bulletin is currently sent to almost 13,000 IMPACT members

who have registered to receive them. A large number of supplementary bulletins were also sent in 2009,

particularly on issues relating to the union’s campaign to protect pay, pensions and public services. Over

23,000 members have now registered to access the ‘members-only’ pages of the IMPACT website.

The Communications Unit was heavily involved in the campaigns, demonstrations and information provision

related to IMPACT ballots and industrial action in 2009-2010, including a major public relations and advertising

campaign (see next section) and the organisation of a mass lobby of TDs in March 2009. The unit also

contributed to campaigns and lobbying to protect pay, jobs and services in the community sector and in the

special needs assistants’ campaign.

The 2009-2010 period was the busiest ever in terms of proactive media work and media requests and the union

achieved a record amount of press and broadcast coverage. An IMPACT initiative led to better coordination of

media work among public service unions while ICTU established a regular contact forum for communications

staff of all unions. Working relations with Ireland’s small number of specialist industrial relations journalists

continue to be fair and productive, which cannot be said of the increasingly shrill tenor of most media

treatment of public servants and trade unions.

In October and November 2009, the Communications Unit held a series of half-day media training workshops

for members in locations around the country. The aim was to prepare members for media interviews during

the November industrial action. The workshops were well attended and, as a result, a large number of those

who took part gave interviews to local media during the industrial action. A few of them have since participated

in a broad range of local and national media interviews, telling individual stories of their work and how the

pay cuts have affected them. This has been helpful in overcoming some of the widespread stereotyping of

public servants in a lot of media coverage.

A number of publications were produced by the Communications Unit including biennial and divisional

reports, the Welcome to IMPACT booklet, The IMPACT desk calendar and wall planner, and the 2009 and 2010

IMPACT pocket diaries.

Defending public servantsIMPACT launched a €450,000 advertising campaign in October 2009, designed to bolster its defence of public

services and the people that provide them. Full-page newspaper adverts appeared in every national paper on

7th October and a massive billboard advertising campaign took place in major cities and towns across the

country. This was followed up with advertising inside buses and DART trains, and a leaflet drop to over a

million households. The campaign also featured some imaginative ‘viral’ communications on Facebook and

the IMPACT website.

The theme of the campaign was ‘Support IMPACT’s battle to save your vital public services.’ It highlighted the

vital work that public servants do and the dangers of cutting services and pay. The union also took full-page

newspaper ads against the so-called ‘pension levy’ in February 2009 and coordinated joint union newspaper

adverts about the public service strike in November 2009.

The campaign package also involved focus group research and opinion polling, which have helped shape the

union’s campaign messages and strategy. The union hired the Public Communications Centre (PCC) to help

develop the campaign. As well as working with IMPACT on earlier public service campaigns, PCC have run

successful campaigns for Trócaire, Save the Children, Older and Bolder, Citizen Traveller and Dial to Stop Drug

Dealing.

Youth committeeIMPACT established a new youth committee early in 2010. With representatives from each of the union’s five

divisions, the committee will campaign to attract young workers into IMPACT and increase their participation

in the union. The committee reports directly to the union’s elected executive committee. The sub-committee

outlined a number of initiatives including producing union publications targeted at young workers, organising

a high-profile national event, negotiating commercial discounts attractive to young people and conducting

surveys to see what young people want from their union. The committee is also working closely with the Irish

Congress of Trade Unions’ youth committee, which coordinates young activists from all the unions.

UPTCS historyIMPACT will publish Scientific Service: A History of the Union of Professional and Technical Civil Servants1920-1990 by Martin Maguire at its 2010 biennial delegate conference. This follows the earlier publication of

Martin Maguire’s history of the Local Government and Public Services Union (LGPSU) and Sean Redmond’s

history of the Irish Municipal Employees Trade Union.

Irish Congress of Trade UnionsPeter McLoone, Shay Cody and Louise O’Donnell were re-elected to ICTU’s Executive Council in 2009. Peter

McLoone is also a member of ICTU’s General Purposes Committee and chairs its Public Services Committee.

IMPACT assistant general secretary Dessie Robinson is an ICTU nominee on the board of the Health and Safety

Authority. Angela Kirk is an ICTU nominee to the National Centre for Partnership and Performance. Louise

O’Donnell resigned as an ICTU representative on the board of the Equality Authority in January 2009 in protest

at a 43% cut in the Authority’s budget and the Government’s treatment of it former chief executive Niall

Crowley.

ICTU’s 2009 biennial delegate conference adopted IMPACT motions on public services and equality of

education opportunities. Details of IMPACT representation on other ICTU committees is set out in appendix

seven of this report.

Supporting the communityIMPACT’s small grants fund for Dublin’s north east inner city donated €50,000 to intercultural and education

projects in both 2009 and 2010. Since its establishment in 2006 the fund has distributed over €200,000 in small

grants to over 80 projects in the locality. A short publication about the fund and the projects it helps is available

on www.impact.ie.

Europe and the worldIMPACT official Denis Rohan represented Irish unions in talks over the successful merger between the two

international trade union organisations Public Services International (PSI) and the European Public Services

Union (EPSU). The EPSU-PSI Europe merger was agreed unanimously at the EPSU congress in June 2009,

with EPSU effectively becoming the European region of PSI. IMPACT is represented on EPSU sectoral

committees for health and social services, local and regional government, and public administration, and

contributes to its campaigns work.

In Ireland, IMPACT led the EPSU ‘public service pledge’ campaign, which asked European Parliamentary

candidates to support a set of framework laws that recognise the special role of public services in the European

Union and called for initiatives to protect and promote quality in public service delivery. The union wrote to

all Irish candidates and seven signed the pledge. They were: Nessa Childers (Labour – Ireland East), Proinsias

de Rossa (Labour – Dublin), Marian Harkin (Independent – North West), Jim Higgins (FG – North West), Joe

Higgins (Socialist – Dublin), Paschal Mooney (FF – North West) and Susan O’Keefe (Labour – North West).



Members of IMPACT’s European affairs sub-committee met nine of Ireland’s 12 MEPs in Brussels in March

2010, including representatives of Fine Gael, Labour and Fianna Fáil, as well as independent Marian Harkin.

The objective was to establish contact with the political groups and individual MEPs, identify general issues

of concern that would likely be before the Parliament over the next five years, and establish a channel for

further dialogue on specific issues as they arise over the lifetime of the Parliament. The IMPACT team raised

public service issues, proposed changes to the working time directive, European Parliament proposals for

improved maternity pay and parental leave, workplace protections and union representation rights post-

Lisbon, and a number of international issues.

IMPACT was part of an ICTU team that met with officials of the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment

over proposals for the implementation of the EU services directive into Irish law. The Government missed the

December 2009 deadline for implementation of the directive.

Trade unions also won an important victory in December 2008 when the European Parliament rejected

proposed amendments to working time laws. Prior to the vote IMPACT wrote to all Irish MEPs urging them to

reject the proposed changes, which would have led to weaker protections for workers in Ireland and

elsewhere. The changes would have preserved an existing opt-out, which was known to have led to workers

doing excessive hours in Britain and elsewhere. It would also have brought adverse changes to the way on-

call working time is determined as well as extending the period over which employers could average working

time. There followed a conciliation process between the Parliament and the European Council, but this failed

to reach agreement and the proposed amendments fell when the Parliament was dissolved in 2009. The issue

is expected to re-emerge in the new Parliament.

IMPACT and other unions across Europe are opposing European Commission proposals for cross-border

health care because they would give market considerations prominence over the provision of quality public

health services. IMPACT wrote to all Irish MEPs on the matter and EPSU engaged in extensive lobbying. But

the proposal was supported by a majority of members of the relevant European Parliamentary committees in

2009.

In the summer of 2008, an EU agreement led to the adoption of a European directive on agency workers in

December 2009 which, once transposed into domestic legislation, will see agency workers entitled to the same

pay and conditions as permanent staff. Unions across Europe have fought for these protections for years and

ICTU is pressing for the directive to be implemented quickly in Ireland, even though EU rules give the

Government until December 2011 to transpose it into Irish law.

ICTU has urged the Government to change the law and issue guidance to employers after the European Court

of Justice ruled that workers on long-term sick leave continue to accrue their rights to paid annual leave even

if their sick leave goes beyond the six-month limit set down in Irish legislation. The ruling, which is based on

the European working time directive, is immediately binding on public service employers but requires an

amendment of Irish law to ensure full rights for other workers.

Along with many other unions, IMPACT’s Central Executive Committee decided to campaign for a ‘yes’ vote

in the second Lisbon referendum. The union supported the Treaty because it gave legal effect to the European

Charter of Fundamental Rights, which includes a range of enhanced rights to union representation and

workplace protection. IMPACT funded the production and launch of a ‘Charter Group’ document on Lisbon and

workplace rights. Lisbon and Your Rights at Work argued that working people should back the Lisbon Treaty

because it would help trade unions to win improved workplace rights and employment protections. It refuted

claims that Lisbon would damage any existing workplace rights and protections.

Developing world fundIMPACT’s developing world fund donated over €500,000 to trade union and education projects in the

developing world in 2009 and will do the same in 2010. Over €5 million has been donated since the fund was

established almost 30 years ago. All IMPACT members contribute to the fund, which receives 3% of all the

union’s membership subscriptions. Most of the money goes to medium and long term projects aimed at

supporting trade unions and community projects. The projects are quite diverse from gender campaigns in the

South America’s southern cone, pay equity campaigns in Brazil, workers’ rights initiatives in the Middle East,

and trade union rights in Turkey. Most large projects supported by IMPACT’s fund are managed and developed

by the international trade union federation Public Service International. Separately, IMPACT’s Central Executive

Committee donated €50,000 to Concern’s Haiti appeal following the 2010 earthquakes. The union’s central

executive committee also asked IMPACT branches to make donations.





Safety at workDespite the challenges of the economic downturn, health and safety continues to be a priority for the union

in all employments. In the last two years we have seen a considerable amount of legislative change and the

union and its officials continue to work to ensure that legislation is implemented to provide safe places of

work for all members. The number of workers killed in workplace accidents in 2009 was the lowest since the

Health and Safety Authority was formed. But as this report went to print, 10 people had already been killed in

workplace accidents in 2010. IMPACT official Dessie Robinson is one of ICTU’s nominees on the Health and

Safety Authority, which continues to focus on occupational health issues with particular emphasis on bullying,

stress, noise vibration, manual handling and first aid.

Finance and administrationThe IMPACT subscription has remained at 0.8% of basic salary. The subscription ceiling is linked to the

minimum point of the local authority grade VI scale, which increased to €47,700 in 2009 and fell to €44,800 in

2010 following the cuts in public service salaries. Retired members pay 0.4% of their occupational pension

with the same maximum ceiling. A number of branches and vocational groups also apply an additional levy

to help them with their costs. The union’s Central Executive Committee is aware of the fall in members’

earnings, due to the so-called ‘pension levy’ and is seeking conference approval to reduce the rate of

subscription to reflect this should union finances allow for this.

Members’ subscriptions are allocated to three funds:

General fund 87%

Dispute fund 10%

Developing world fund 3%

Branches receive 10% of their members’ subscriptions together with a capitation grant, which is based on

branch size. Vocational groups are funded through block grants, plus the direct reimbursement of expenses for

attending negotiations. The block grants are based on applications from vocational groups.

The union’s finances continue to be healthy. Despite falling share values, the dispute fund continues to be in

a very healthy state and reached €27.3 million at the end of 2009. A summary of the accounts for 2009, with

comparative figures for 2008, are published as appendix eight of this report. Copies of the full accounts for

2008 and 2009 are issued to all branches and are available to members on request.

IMPACT members have donated over €5 million to education andtrade union development projects around the globe since the union’s

developing world fund was established almost 30 years ago.

Additional financial resources were required to improve services to members by hiring more staff in health

and elsewhere over the last two years. Additional space in head office is being used to accommodate the extra

staff and to provide office and other facilities for branch activists. The union’s membership database has

continued to be developed and enhanced and more up-to-date membership data is available to branches, on

request, in a range of electronic formats.

Corporate governanceWork continued on a new IMPACT corporate governance framework, but due to pressure of other work it has

not yet been finished. The aim is to ensure that members receive the best possible value for money for their

union subscriptions. When it’s completed, the framework will cover all the union’s systems, processes and

procedures for financial and organisational matters. It will also include the introduction of a risk assessment

system, codes of conduct and ethics, reporting and accountability arrangements, legislative compliance

arrangements, and an internal financial and organisational audit function.

A pilot internal audit scheme was established and it examined a small number of financial and organisational

matters. It reported to the Central Executive Committee, which accepted and implemented its recommen -

dations. A decision is required as to whether to continue this scheme on a permanent basis and, if so, how it

will operate to supplement, but not unnecessarily duplicate, the union’s other financial governance

arrangements.

Equal opportunitiesThe past two years saw a major rolling back of the State’s commitment to equality with the budgets for the

Equality Authority and the Human Rights Commission slashed well beyond those of other state agencies. The

assault on equal opportunities infrastructure also saw the abolition of the National Consultative Council on

Racism and Interculturalism and the subsuming of the Combat Poverty Agency into the civil service. The level

of cuts to the Equality Authority budget made its role impossible, which led to the resignation of its chief

executive Niall Crowley and many of its board members including the ICTU and IBEC representatives. The

only bright light was the transfer of responsibility of the equality brief from the Department of Justice to the

newly revised Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs.

The union’s equal opportunities committee continued to progress the Nexus report on gender equality. Its

main recommendations included:

● Developing the role of workplace representatives

● Introducing mentoring for newer and more established activists

● Providing ongoing support and liaison including training and information on how to access supports

● Reviewing union meeting practices including times, venues and agendas

● Formally recognising volunteerism within the union

● Developing role models

● Taking practical measures to improve gender balance at all levels

● Developing an action plan, with monitoring, to ensure these recommendations are given effect.

It was agreed that these should be progressed and mainstreamed as part of the general union restructuring

and re-organisation proposals. The committee is also updating the union’s equality manual and the initial

sections of this are now available. It was agreed that this manual is best produced electronically rather than

in print format. This allows it to be made available to more members at little or no cost, with easy updating in

the future.

Retired membersA vocational group has been established for IMPACT’s retired members. The vocational group is representative

of the broad spectrum of the retired membership and has been working on many issues of concern to retired

members including occupational and state pension entitlements, the government’s ‘fair deal’ for people in

nursing homes, and a range of public services available to older people.



IMPACT’s young members’ committee got off the blocks in early 2010

Its inaugural members Mark Mulhall, Amanda O’Hara, Mark Finlay, Joe May, Ciara Browne and Brian Furey are pictured here.

IMPACT civil service members in a joint union picket at the gates of Dáil Eireann during the national

public service strike in November 2009

Civil service

Performance Management and Development System (PMDS)The unions deferred seeking a review of PMDS in 2008 but management requested that the sub-committee

be re-convened in 2009 to discuss issues in relation to PMDS. Management was anxious to discuss

performance targets while the unions had major concerns about the appeals process, particularly the lack of

an independent review procedure. There were no further meetings or discussions because of the pay talks.

Management has set up a PMDS review group but the unions are not participating in it.

Decentralisation There were three meetings of the decentralisation sub-committee in 2009. There is still no agreement on the

draft loss of earnings paper, which was issued in 2009. At the request of the unions management produced

lists of decentralised locations that were complete and those that were being deferred.

Work-life balance The work-life balance network was set up to address policy issues, particularly issues raised by departments

and offices in the work-life balance review. The network was finalising its report as this report went to print. In

April 2009 the Department of Finance announced details of a special civil service incentivised career break

scheme, which allows established and unestablished civil servants who have satisfactorily completed two

years’ continuous service to apply. The career break or special leave, which is without pay, must be taken for

three years. Special leave under this scheme does not count as service and does not reckon for increments or

towards qualifying service for annual leave or promotion. Neither the special leave nor the incentive payment

counts for superannuation purposes.

Bereavement leaveIn August 2009 the Department of Finance issued a circular setting out details of special paid leave which may

be allowed in the event of the death of a relative. The scheme allows five working days leave in the case of a

spouse including a cohabiting partner, a child including adopted children and children being cared for on the

basis of “in loco parentis,” or any person in a relationship of domestic dependency including same sex

partners. It allows three working days in the case of other immediate relatives and one working day in the case

of an uncle, aunt, niece or nephew. It also allows bereavement leave of five days for fathers in the event of

stillborn or pre-natal death of a child after 24 weeks’ pregnancy. Special leave of up to three days may be

granted on the death of a more distant relative in specified exceptional circumstances. Management also has

discretion to increase the available leave if a person has to travel abroad to make funeral arrangements.

Shorter working year schemeIn April 2009 the department introduced the shorter working year scheme, which replaces the term-time

scheme. The purpose of the new scheme is to allow civil servants to balance working arrangements with family

and outside commitments. Under the scheme special unpaid leave is available in periods of between two and

13 consecutive weeks. The leave can be taken as a continuous period or as a maximum of three separate

periods of not less than two weeks and not exceeding 13 weeks in total.


Incentivised early retirement schemeAn incentivised early retirement scheme was also introduced in April 2009 to facilitate a permanent, structural

reduction in numbers of staff serving in the civil service and other public service bodies.

McKenna judgementFollowing a ruling of the European Court of Justice and a Labour Court determination, new civil service

pregnancy-related sick leave entitlements became effective on 27th April 2006. These amendments are set out

in Circular 15/2009. Further amendments to the sick leave scheme are required following another European

Court of Justice ruling which said that annual leave should continue to accrue while a person is absent on sick

leave. A claim was presented at General Council and is with the department for response.

Crèches A new civil service crèche opened at Mahon in Cork. The crèche, which is run by Nurture Childcare and Early

Learning Centre, brings to seven the number of crèches operated under the civil service childcare initiative.

From January 2009 the department transferred responsibility for the building and maintenance programme

for civil service crèches to the Office of Public Works. The Department of Finance continues to retain

responsibility for policy matters relating to existing crèches, including the allocation of licences to crèche

operators, and has an overall supervisory role including monitoring the standard of service provided by the

operators. The civil service childcare initiative board agreed that there would be no increase in fees for 2010.

Disabilities The sub-committee met on several occasions during 2009. The code of practice remains on the agenda for both

the sub-committee and the disabilities network which meets on a regular basis. A bi-lateral meeting to discuss

the role of visually impaired telephonists and the re-opening of the verification process is to take place in 2010.

Some new disability liaison officers were trained in 2009 and an updated list of all disability liaison officers is

to be circulated in 2010. A conference on mental wellbeing in the workplace took place in Dublin Castle in

January 2010. Updates are regularly supplied to the website www.disabilities.gov.ie.

Health and safetyThere were no meetings of the health and safety sub-committee during 2009.

Travel and subsistenceThere were two meetings of the motor mileage sub-committee in 2009. At the March meeting management

said that the Government intended to reduce the travel and subsistence rates by 25% as part of its imposed

package of measures to save €1.4 billion from the public service pay bill. The reductions applied from March

2009. The unions expressed their dissatisfaction with the decision and said that such unilateral action was

unacceptable. The committee met in September to discuss a union claim seeking a review of the travel and

subsistence rates in accordance with the agreed formula under General Council reports. A General Council

report concerning a revision in the travel and subsistence rates for 2009 was signed in October 2009. This

report recorded disagreement. The unions have now forwarded a statement of case and terms of reference in

a claim for a review of the motor travel and home subsistence rates to the civil service arbitration board.

At its March meeting the management side also indicated its intention to reduce the subsistence rate by 25%.

The unions again expressed their dissatisfaction with the Government decision. A claim for a return to the

agreed formula for travel and subsistence was made to General Council and, following a sub-committee

meeting in September and the disagreed General Council report, the unions have now lodged a case with the

civil service arbitration board.


Civil service

Cycle to work schemeIn May 2009 the Minister for Finance announced the introduction of the civil service cycle to work scheme,

which effectively gives employees’ tax relief for the purchase of a new bicycle or bicycle safety equipment up

to a value of €1,000 every five years.

Grievance procedureThe unions met to discuss a management draft report on the grievance procedure. As the draft was not

approved by the unions it was agreed to meet management again for discussions. Following a change in

personnel on the management side, a meeting was held and management agreed to provide a further

document for staff side discussion early in 2010.

Arbitration board and adjudicator James Connolly (chairperson), D Hunter (Government nominee) and Tom Wall (staff nominee) were appointed

as members of the arbitration board in June 2009. The staff side agreed to the re-nomination of the board

from 1st July 2009 to 30th June 2010, but the list of nominees had not gone to Government as this report went

to press. James Connolly resigned as chairperson and no new chairperson has been agreed. The staff side

agreed to the re-appointment of Kieran McGovern as adjudicator from June 2009 to June 2010.

Disciplinary code appeals board Inge Clissman SC was re-appointed as chairperson of the civil service disciplinary appeals board for 2009-

2010. Tom Fallon was appointed deputy chairperson.

Staff panel and general council There were ten meetings of the General Staff Panel during the year. A draft document was agreed and sent to

management for observations following an October 2008 meeting on the proposed move from the conciliation

and arbitration scheme to using state industrial relations agencies. Following a meeting in June, management

indicated that legal changes would be necessary. It is hoped that a meeting will be held in early 2010 to

progress the matter. Four meetings of General Council took place during the year.


Civil service

IMPACT member Doreen Bracken who is a former physiotherapy manager at Dublin’s Connolly hospital

“Treating patients early is really vital and means they will be mobile and homeward bound muchquicker. A long wait for treatment can lead to treatable conditions becoming chronic,” says Doreen.

Health and welfare

Public service campaignThe breakdown of the national agreement in February 2009, the collapse of talks in December 2009, and the

renewed discussions in March 2010 all left their mark on the health service and its industrial relations. Huge

organisational effort went into the national ballots held in March and October 2009, associated workplace

meetings, and the campaign aimed at recovering pay cuts and securing guarantees on pay, jobs and

pensions. As well as casting a shadow over every issue, this activity obviously took priority over other

industrial relations matters and the climate was hardly conducive for successful claims in any event.

HSE reorganisationIn the summer of 2009 IMPACT responded positively to an HSE request to discuss various organisational

changes at the Labour Relations Commission. Meetings took place in October and the union confirmed its

willingness to review elements of the 2004 framework agreement and to work intensively through the

different items on the change agenda including the proposed integrated services programme. The union was

prepared to consider amendments to the aspects of the existing agreement that set out procedures, so long

as the protections remained intact. These talks stalled with the collapse of discussions with the Government

on a broader transformation agenda.

Moratorium on recruitment and promotionsThe Government decision to impose a moratorium on recruitment and promotions hit the health service

hard. The associated employment control framework envisaged a reduction in overall headcount and, despite

exemptions for some grades represented by IMPACT, there is little evidence to suggest that these jobs have

been filled. A new employment control framework unveiled in April 2010 envisages a further reduction in

health employment of over 1,500 this year.

RedeploymentThe HSE has been aggressively pressing the issue of redeployment since May 2009, linking it to the impact

of the moratorium. Various sets of discussions between the HSE and the health unions failed to produce

agreement, although there was some progress on the voluntary aspects of a scheme. Again this issue was

overtaken by the national picture.

Staff schemesIn an attempt to put pressure on unions to change their stance on redeployment, the HSE unilaterally

suspended the incentivised scheme for early retirement, the incentivised career break scheme and the

shorter working year scheme shortly after they were announced. The HSE tried to create the entirely untrue

impression that unions were blocking the operation of the schemes.

HSE national service plan 2010It was early March before the HSE’s 2010 service plan was approved and made public. The approach to

delivering services within the reduced resources allocated by the Government is based on the following

planning principles and focus:


● Deliver quality and safe sustainable services

● reconfigure core services and deliver an appropriate balance between hospital and community services

● further develop the role of clinicians in defining and delivering care processes nationally

● maintain value for money derived from previous years and budgets and continue to drive further value, driving efficiency through bestpractice benchmarking

● support the development of a flexible workforce in line with public sector reform initiatives

● reduce pay spend and employment levels in a structured manner.

With or without a national public service agreement these objectives, coupled with a reduced budget of just

over €14 billion, will mean another difficult year even as envisaged staff reductions lead to savings in the pay

bill.

Employee engagementThe absence in the service plan of sufficient recognition of staff dedication and the labour intensive nature

of health services continues to be a disappointment. This attitude is coupled with a reluctant tolerance of

trade unions which fails to really respect or value their representative role and contribution.

The HSE appears to have adopted the brand of employee relations found in the worst private sector firms,

including writing directly to staff in an attempt to undermine unions when it doesn't get its way. IMPACT has

responded strongly on occasions when the HSE has attempted to undermine staff and their unions in this

way.

Expert group on resource allocation and financingIMPACT made a submission to the expert group on resource allocation and financing in the health sector in

July 2009. The union argued that the level of private health insurance in Ireland reflected concern over poor

or delayed access to the public system and argued that this expenditure could be redirected to public health

provision, in the form of ring-fenced taxation or a universal insurance model, provided that current

contributors were convinced that a new system would mean good access and better quality. The union also

said that the two-tier health system had been at the core of policy while opportunities to develop a system

involving universal access had been foregone. It cited the 2001 health strategy, which failed to examine the

funding options in any serious way. The expert group is due to report shortly.

Flu pandemicIn common with other unions representing nurses and public health doctors, IMPACT agreed to emergency

measures in response to the threatened H1N1 pandemic. Clerical, administrative and other staff agreed to

redeploy to mass vaccination clinics for the duration of the campaign. This was done on the basis of an HSE

commitment that staff would return to their original assignments when the campaign was completed and

that any other issues emerging would be resolved.

Centralisation of medical cardsThe HSE decided to centralise arrangements for the processing of medical cards for people aged over 70

when the Government removed universal eligibility for this group. By early 2009 this had developed into a

decision to centralise all medical card applications. Despite repeated attempts, IMPACT could not obtain any

satisfactory explanation for this change. The HSE represented it as a move to reduce staffing and facilitate

redeployment to other services. However, questions regarding the quality of the service including acc ess -

ibility, responsiveness, flexibility and personal interaction, were largely ignored.

As the HSE moved to begin the centralisation process, IMPACT members voted overwhelmingly in favour of

industrial action. Following proposals from the Labour Relations Commission in August some staff in two

local health offices agreed to move and those applications were centralised.


Health and welfare

Around that time IMPACT commenced a major lobbying initiative and wrote to every national and local

political representative in the country. The union received several expressions of support. Further contacts

with party health spokespeople, submissions outlining the union's case, and the chaotic centralised process

put pressure on the HSE to justify its decision at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health. In April 2010 that

committee produced a report, which is now under consideration.

Community welfare serviceIn September 2009 the Labour Relations Commission invited the unions and management to a conciliation

process on the proposal to transfer community welfare services from the HSE to the Department of Social

and Family Affairs. During a number of conciliation conferences between September and December 2009,

the unions identified approximately 30 issues that needed clarification. Fundamental issues like pay, super -

annuation, grading, allowances, career structure, work location, hours of work, staffing numbers, annual

leave and many more were tabled for a response from management.

The conciliation officer acknowledged that clarification on these issues would have to be provided in advance

of any proposed move. But we are still waiting for a comprehensive response. Manage ment indicated that

all staff, including clerical, administrative and appeals officers, would be transferring and so representatives

from these grades joined community welfare officer representatives in the discussions.

No conciliation conference took place in January of this year as the unions reflected and communicated with

members on the breakdown of the national talks in December 2009. The commencement of industrial action

at the end of January has resulted in the further deferral of contacts in the Labour Relations Commission.

Standardised leave in the voluntary sectorUnder the terms of the HSE-IMPACT framework agreement, and separately under the Towards 2016

agreement, the union was committed to discussing and agreeing standardised terms and conditions for new

entrants to the HSE. Agreement was eventually reached on annual leave and working hours after a long

facilitated process. The union stressed the importance of application to the hospitals and agencies funded

under section 38 of the 2004 Health Act, given the emphasis on a single health system. But, despite his view

that there was a fairness and equity case to answer, the facilitator said this was outside the scope of the

discussions.

Once the agreement was made, the union lodged claims on the employer and when they were rejected

pursued the issue to the Labour Relations Commission and the Labour Court. In September 2009 the Labour

Court rejected the claim on the basis that these were separate employers with their own terms and

conditions. The separate nature of the employers was never disputed and it appears that the claim was

knocked on a technicality. A ballot of members was unnecessary because the recommendation was clearly

unacceptable. The union has been endeavouring to find a new way to have this longstanding injustice

addressed and resolved.

Building union strengthIt has been a difficult year in many respects and the pressure on branch activists and union staff has been

tremendous. Given the demands on the union at all levels it is understandable, though disappointing, that

the 'building union strength' training initiative launched at the 2009 divisional conference suffered. It is now

evident that the trade union movement, including IMPACT, needs to renew its organisation and the

participation of members if it is to be adequately equipped to deal with the many challenges we face and to

deliver on our core values for the workplace and society. For the foreseeable future we all need to place as

much emphasis on organisational and development issues as industrial relations and policy matters.


Health and welfare

IMPACT members picket Dublin City Council’s civic officesduring the national public service strike in November 2009

Local government, education and local services

The Local Government, Education and Local Services divisional executive set out its objective of continuing

to improve organisation, communication and recruitment at the 2009 divisional conference. The newly elected

cathaoirleach Tom Murray pledged to improve the links between the executive and branches during the

executive’s time in office.

The division has seen continued substantial membership growth over the last two years, much of this coming

from newly created branches in the education area. Membership in the division had increased from 15,000

members in May 2007 to over 18,400 in May 2009.

PartnershipSignificant concerns about the benefits of the partnership process arose during the divisional conference and

the executive undertook to review the process. IMPACT has driven the review of performance management

development proposals and secured a review of the process, which involves supervisors and staff. The

‘handling significant change’ protocol was used by the division to secure agreements from employers

regarding public spending cuts in the 2008–2009 period.

Local government reformLegislation has now been published to give effect to the Reform of Local Government white paper. The changes

are largely limited to the creation of directly elected mayors. The division has criticised the failure of the

legislation to address the problem of local government funding, which lies at the heart of the problems of

service delivery in local government.

The McCarthy report on public service numbers and expenditure recommended the abolition of up to 12 local

authorities. The division believes this would further reduce the connection between citizens and local

government. The report also recommended a €100 million reduction in local government funding at a time

when traditional areas of local government income have fallen dramatically.

Services and job lossesSome 5,000 jobs were lost in the local government sector between June 2008 and December 2009. These jobs

were providing vitally needed services to local communities. While IMPACT has worked through the ‘handling

significant change’ protocol to minimize the effects of job losses, the scale of the cuts is likely to affect local

and community services for years to come.

IMPACT has ensured that temporary workers with more than two years continuous service will receive

statutory redundancy payments. The union is currently pursuing a claim at the Labour Relations Commission

for increased redundancy terms in local authorities.

The division made a submission to the efficiency review group, established by Minister John Gormley and

chaired by Pat McLoughlin. The IMPACT submission argued against the reduction of the number of local

authorities and said that shared services had greater scope for improved efficiency and service delivery.

Recruitment and promotion moratoriumIn March 2009 Government departments issued a series of circulars that effectively prohibited the filling of

vacant posts, the filling of promotional vacancies, and acting up arrangements. This approach undermined

staff morale and led to a deterioration of services to the public. The divisional executive committee responded

by advising branches to ensure that the work of vacant posts was not undertaken by union members. At first

the effect of the union position around the country was variable, although its effects became more evident and

consistent as the campaign continued.




Clerical and administrative gradesA job evaluation scheme for local government clerical and administrative grades has been in place since 1974,

but it has not been effectively operated by employers. The division is seeking the implementation and updating

of the scheme and the matter has been referred to the Labour Relations Commission.

Fire servicesThe union’s fire service forum continues to meet on a regular basis to consider a wide range of issues. The key

issue for the group concerns health and safety requirements. The union tabled its concerns at a meeting with

the employers and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. A further meeting is

scheduled with the employers.

LibrariesThe union has had extensive discussions with employers on the qualifications and experience required for

grade V posts created in the library service. The union is insisting that the agreed draft qualifications for these

posts should stand.

Revenue collectorsThe majority of branches have now reached agreement with employers over the restructuring of revenue

collection services. Revenue collectors in Clare were put off the payroll when they adhered to the IMPACT

instruction on the matter. As a result of intervention from the Clare branch and the assistant general secretary,

the members agreed to accept binding arbitration on the matter. The members returned to work and suffered

no loss of pay. The division continues to support branches who wish to retain the traditional revenue collection

system.

Social workersClaims for regrading of social workers in Dublin and throughout the country have been delayed by the

insistence of the Local Government Management Services Board, which represents the employers, that the two

claims be held simultaneously. This position is not acceptable to the national local authority social workers

vocational group or the Dublin city branch.

Vocational groupsThe national secretary has met with a number of national groups, including internal auditors, civil defence

officers, water officers and information system officers, to assist them in relation to their respective issues.

Fixed-term workersIMPACT continues to successfully pursue employers who have breached the terms of the 2003 Protection of

Employees (Fixed Term Workers) Act. Two significant victories were achieved by the Clare and Wexford

branches. In the first, the claimant was awarded €25,000 by the Labour Court after the union established that

her contract was terminated in order to circumvent the legislation when her employer terminated her

employment a day before her fourth year of service.

EDUCATIONEducational disadvantageBarnardos chief executive Fergus Finlay was the keynote speaker at an IMPACT seminar on equality and

disadvantage in education in January 2009. The seminar, which was well attended by members of the union’s

education branches as well as other education unions and specialists, addressed fears that equal access and

opportunity in education are being sacrificed as a result of budget cuts. Delegates discussed how recent

education cuts will impact in the long term, how staff will be affected, and how IMPACT and other unions can

meet these challenges. Speakers included IMPACT’s Peter Nolan and Paul Downes, director of the educational

disadvantage centre in Dublin City University. Participants also heard from senior representatives of

Youthreach, the adult learning organisation Aontas, the Children's Rights Alliance, and the Irish Vocational

Education Association.

Education centresIMPACT strongly opposed the McCarthy report’s recommendation that all education centres throughout 16

counties be closed. In 2009, the Dublin West education centre made two members redundant, even though

they did not have the least service. The union immediately referred the matter to the National Implementation

Body and the Labour Court subsequently recommended their reinstatement. Significantly the Labour Court

accepted IMPACT’s view that the employees were public sector workers. The employer refused to accept the

Court’s recommendation and the union has referred the matter to the Employment Appeals Tribunal.

Separately, Drumcondra education centre has circulated proposals for a redundancy scheme. The proposal

does not provide the normal protections for staff and the union will shortly enter into discussions with the

employer.

Institutes of technology The IMPACT Institutes of Technology branch was established early in 2008 and has grown substantially

following a series of workplace visits and recruitment campaigns. A revised set of grievance and disciplinary

procedures was negotiated and agreed. A draft scheme to award increments to members acting up for more

than a year was negotiated and is for approval on the basis that it will issue as a circular letter to each VEC and

institute of technology.

The public service recruitment moratorium had a devastating effect on services during 2009. The branch

balloted and commenced a campaign of boycotting unfilled posts for the latter part of the year, which resulted

in an easing of the moratorium. A revised employment control framework will allow most administrative and

related posts to be filled.

National educational welfare branchA Labour Relations Commission advisory service investigation commenced in this workplace to examine a

number of unimplemented third party recommendations and other issues.

School completion programmeThe School Completion Programme branch is taking its case for access to the public service superannuation

scheme to the Labour Relations Commission. A presentation was also made to the Dáil education committee

resulting in an easing of proposed cutbacks.

School secretariesIMPACT’s School Secretaries’ branch is one of the union’s newest and it has gone from strength to strength

since its formation in 2007. A strong branch committee has emerged, which is representative of the geographic

spread of a membership that has increased by over 100% from fewer than 300 to around 630. The branch

committee members hail from all corners of the country ensuring that members in all regions, and in all first

and second level schools and colleges, are represented.

Over the past two years the branch has put structures in place to ensure that it functions properly and can

provide a good industrial relations service to members. The branch was successful in gaining support to elect

branch secretary Patricia Whelan onto the IMPACT divisional and central executive committees.

The main thrust of branch activity has been to highlight, and seek improvements in, the inadequate and

inequitable pay and employment conditions of the vast majority of its members. On its formation the branch

launched a campaign, which saw the branch making its case in the national and local print, radio and TV media.

It has also addressed the Dáil education committee.

The campaign culminated in an agreement under the Towards 2016 national deal to establish a national forum

on pay and employment conditions. The forum is made up of union representatives, employer groups and

officials from the departments of finance and education. It was set up to establish the factual position on pay



and conditions in schools, agree a national minimum pay rate, and examine future pay and conditions. It has

met on a number of occasions and the main scope of its work has been to consider the results of a national

survey. While the results of this survey are not yet complete the initial findings vindicate the unions’ campaign

for improved pay and conditions.

Most school secretaries are paid via a schools’ grant system, rather than through agreed pay scales. So far,

the survey results show that they earn average hourly pay of between €10 and €14 an hour after an average

of eight years service. This is about 30-40% lower than comparable public service employees. The survey is also

showing that around 70% of school secretaries have no access to pension or sick leave schemes, in direct

contrast to their colleagues in the wider public service. Indeed these conditions are vastly different to those

enjoyed by their colleagues paid directly by the education department. As this report went to print, the forum

was continuing to meet and the branch committee is confident of making real progress before the year’s end.

The branch has also been engaging with individual employers to win improvements in pay and employment

conditions. Numerous successful representations have been made to individual boards of management and

many members have had their employment status confirmed as permanent. The success and growth of the

branch has also seen a huge increase in the numbers of members seeking representation and challenging

inequalities, bullying, harassment and poor employment conditions. The establishment of the new branch has

brought about renewed confidence in the union among school secretaries.

Over the next two years the branch is hoping to make significant progress on pay and pensions through the

national forum. But there will also be a major focus on grading structures and annual leave entitlements,

particularly for members who are paid directly by the education department. It has been many years since

existing agreements have been reviewed and the branch committee is determined to make real progress.

Special needs assistantsSince 2008 IMPACT’s Special Needs Assistants’ branch has continued to increase its membership and it now

has more than 5,100 members. This makes it the largest branch in the union. It has developed a regional

structure throughout the country, which is operating well in most areas. The election of Joan McCrohan to the

divisional executive has been another important milestone in the development of the branch.

A value for money review of the special needs assistant posts was initiated by the Department of Education

and Science in late 2008. The branch made a detailed submission to the review, but the review findings have

yet to be published. The SNA role came under additional pressure when the McCarthy report recommended

that 2,000 posts be cut as part of its arbitrary programme of public service cuts. A review of SNA posts by the

National Council for Special Education (NCSE) was initiated in March 2009. Early estimates, based on

information supplied by the NCSE, suggested that as many as 1,200 SNA posts could be cut. The branch

undertook a sustained effort to highlight the scale of the threat to jobs and educational services to children with

special needs. This took the form of political lobbying and media campaigning.

The branch wrote to the education minister in January 2009 requesting an extension of the interim staffing

agreement until the end of the 2009 school year, in order to avoid service disruption during the school term

and to allow the findings of both the NCSE and value for money reviews to be considered together. IMPACT

continued intensive political lobbying on the issue as there was no direct response from the minister.

Continuing contact with the opposition parties and a last minute response from Green Party education

spokesperson Paul Gogarty culminated in an invitation to make a presentation to the Oireachtas Joint

Committee on Education and Science in March 2010.

The branch will continue to campaign alongside a broad coalition of groups representing parents of children

with special education needs and teachers’ representatives. This approach has focused a great deal of public

attention on the value of the SNA service. It has also highlighted the very real threat that the McCarthy report

poses to one of the Irish education system’s greatest success stories.

A great deal of work has been done by members of the branch executive and regional committees to establish

networks between schools. This proved very successful in delivering the work stoppage in November 2009,

which was also the first time the branch operated in conjunction with unions representing teaching colleagues.

Vocational educational committees Membership of IMPACT’s VEC branch rose over the last two years despite the loss of a considerable number

of jobs due to Government budget cuts and the moratorium on public service recruitment. The union’s sectoral

agreement on contracts of indefinite duration resulted in the saving of at least 200 jobs. Agreement on the

filling of common recruitment pool posts by open competition was reached under the Towards 2016

agreement. The Labour Relations Commission recommended a process for the review of the Rochford report,

which resulted in the appointment of an independent chairperson. This process had commenced but was

parked following the imposition of the recruitment moratorium.



Kilkenny special needs assistants Glyn and Louise Carolan

“The best part of the job is finding out what kids are capable of when given the chance. Amazing things can happen,” says Glyn.

Dublin fire-fighter and paramedic Teresa Hudson

“You see all kinds of things and you have to stay focused on the job. You are meeting people on whatis probably the worst day of their lives, but for you it’s part of the working day,” says Teresa.

Municipal employees

The past two years have seen many changes and challenges facing the division including the departure of

key personnel and the emergence of new officials and representatives. National secretary Tom Brady retired

in 2009 as did two very experienced convenors, Brendan Clarke and Christy Finnerty. The division salutes the

contribution these colleagues have made over many years. The division is also happy to welcome our new of-

ficial Stella Griffin, who has taken up her new role with energy and enthusiasm, and new convenors Thomas

Murtagh in Dublin City Council and Ros MacCobb in Dublin fire brigade. All have acquitted themselves ex-

tremely well to date.

Waste management servicesOne of our biggest challenges has been defending direct labour domestic waste collection. Since the intro-

duction of charges for domestic waste collection, private companies have increasingly replaced direct labour

workers in the provision of this service in local authorities outside Dublin. These services had traditionally

been exclusively undertaken by direct labour in the four Dublin local authorities until 2007 when a number of

private companies began to offer an alternative service to households in the Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown area.

The council soon lost customers at an alarming rate to two private companies, Greenstar and PANDA. Both

companies’ collection charges were cheaper than the council’s and this was the deciding factor for many

householders. The two companies could offer cheaper rates mainly because they don’t have the same cost

overheads as local authorities and also because their pay and conditions of employment are far inferior to

those in the council.

The response to the threat, by both the division and council management, was to use the partnership process

to restructure the service to improve quality and value for money to defend the waste collection business from

the threat from private companies. In negotiations with both Dublin City Council and Dun Laoghaire-Rath-

down County Council, the division concluded restructuring agreements that paved the way for the introduc-

tion of new dry recyclable (green bin), bio-degradable (brown bin) and domestic waste (grey bin) collection

services.

The restructuring agreements included changed work practices, which were necessary to ensure that the coun-

cil retained as much of the waste collection market as possible in order to defend quality services and mem-

bers’ jobs and livelihoods.

The four Dublin local authorities also sought to vary the waste management plan via a public consultation

process. The variation of the plan would have allowed the councils to regulate waste collection in the Dublin

region. The result of this variation would have allowed the council to give the rights to waste collection to a

single operator of their choice or, following a public tender process, their nominee or nominees.

PANDA waste services went to the High Court and successfully sought a judicial review to prevent the Coun-

cil from varying the waste management plan. The ruling by Justice McKechnie has major repercussions for the

future of direct labour staff in the waste collection service in the face of what will be a major challenge from

private companies. The four Dublin local authorities are now considering appealing this ruling to the Supreme

Court.

PaySince the benchmarking process the union has sought pay parity between Dublin local authority general op-

eratives and equivalent grades in the wider public sector. Discussions with the Department of Finance and

Local Government Management Services Board began in late 2007 and a process was agreed to allow unions

and the four Dublin local authorities to negotiate an agreement.


It was decided to bring in a third party, Boyle & Associates, to assist in what would be a complex set of nego-

tiations and the process commenced in 2008. It involved an evaluation of all general operative grades, which

was undertaken by an outside agency. The evaluation was completed in late 2008 and categorised grades for

the purpose of identifying a new pay and grading structure and also for assimilation purposes in line with the

structure that applies for general operative grades in comparable employments.

As part of the process, discussions on the council’s modernisation and change agenda continued throughout

2009 up to the announcement of the Government’s moratorium on pay claims. As this report went to print, IM-

PACT and Siptu were working to get council management back to the negotiating table to complete the agreed

process for future implementation.

Discussions with management in the institutes of technology are continuing on the findings of a third party

report into a union claim to upgrade class aides and attendant grades. The report was commissioned follow-

ing discussions at the Labour Relations Commission (LRC). The claim was taken by the institute group of

unions made up of IMPACT, Siptu and Unite. It arose because these grades have taken on additional duties nor-

mally performed by technical grades that have been successful in achieving higher grading. Despite the com-

pletion of a third party report, which recommended a set of guidelines to assist negotiations, the institutes’

management has failed to respond to our request for formal negotiations on the report. It is likely that the

unions will seek the intervention of the LRC who originally recommended the report into the unions’ claim.

In recent years the division has highlighted the inadequate and inequitable pay and employment conditions

of most of its members employed as school caretakers and IMPACT has campaigned for improvements. The

campaign culminated in an agreement under the Towards 2016 national deal to establish a national forum on

pay and employment conditions.

The forum is made up of IMPACT and Siptu representatives, employer groups and officials from the depart-

ments of finance and education. It was set up to establish the factual position on pay and conditions in schools,

agree a national minimum pay rate, and examine future pay and conditions. It has met on a number of occa-

sions and the main scope of its work has been to consider the results of a national survey which saw over 70%

of school caretakers respond to questions regarding rates of pay, access to pensions and other employment

conditions. While the results of this survey are not yet complete the initial findings vindicate the unions’ cam-

paign for improved pay and conditions of employment.

Most school caretakers are paid via a schools’ grant system, rather than through agreed pay scales. The sur-

vey shows that average hourly rates of pay range between €9 and €12 an hour after an average of eight years’

service, which is 30-40% lower than comparable public service employees. The survey is also showing that

around 70% of school caretakers have no access to pension or sick leave schemes, in direct contrast to their

colleagues in the wider public service. Indeed these conditions are vastly different to those that apply to their

colleagues paid directly by the education department. As this report went to print the forum was continuing

to meet and the branch committee was confident of making real progress before the year’s end.

JobsThe division is increasingly concerned at the non-replacement of jobs arising from natural wastage, particu-

larly among local authority general operatives and education support staff. In recent years the union has made

numerous representations to have vacancies filled, with varying degrees of success. In some cases there has

been no progress at all. This has resulted in many members taking on higher grade duties and remaining in

an acting capacity for far too long. This issue is set to become a major problem as the Government’s morato-

rium on recruitment continues.

But the division was successful in preventing City of Dublin VEC and Dublin Institute of Technology from ter-

minating the contracts of over 100 members employed in schools and colleges across the city. The members

concerned are contracted to work during the academic year, which runs from September to June. They are laid

off during the long summer break, but are traditionally recalled at the beginning of each academic year. Man-

agement in both employments argued that, under the Government’s recruitment moratorium, they were fixed-

term workers and could not be offered their positions back at the beginning of the academic year. No progress

was made in discussions so members voted overwhelmingly to take industrial action in the event management

went ahead with dismissals. City of Dublin VEC agreed to take all members back but DIT management refused

and the matter was referred to the Labour Court following discussions at the LRC. During this process, the

union was successful in getting all but four positions refilled, saving 114 full-time and part-time jobs.


Municipal employees

PartnershipUntil 2009’s national public service dispute, the partnership process remained buoyant in most of the divi-

sion’s areas of representation. In particular, the Dublin City Council corporate partnership forum operated very

effectively and members representing IMPACT were to the fore on many issues. When the partnership forum

met monthly a strong sub group system was established, which enabled difficult issues to be resolved across

all areas of the council. Local partnership groups were also established in a number of key departments in-

cluding parks, libraries, motor tax and the Dublin fire brigade.

Many major issues normally dealt with through industrial relations procedures were brought into the part-

nership structure and this facilitated agreement on difficult restructuring proposals in waste management,

housing, street cleansing and the Dublin fire brigade. The division’s partnership representatives were also very

much involved in successfully reviewing and amending the council’s disciplinary, grievance and dignity in the

workplace procedures, making them more user-friendly and accessible to employees.

While a strong partnership committee also exists in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, some difficul-

ties were experienced partly because of a perception among union representatives that their issues were not

being given due recognition. A high level group on change and modernisation was established but, again,

very little progress was made on issues identified by both management and the unions. It was notable that

management change proposals ended up being referred back to the industrial relations forum. In some cases

these issues required Labour Relations Commission intervention.

While partnership structures have been established in both the VEC and DIT sectors, they have not been as ac-

tive as in the local authority sector. This is mainly because of indifference to the process among the teaching

unions, which has resulted in the structures being stymied. IMPACT representatives have pressed management

to continue to put viable and workable structures in place, but too little progress has been made and attempts

to seek more understanding of the teaching unions’ difficulties are now underway.

While participation in the partnership process has inevitably been hindered by the current national public serv-

ice dispute, more work needs to be done to put in place a workable process supported by all parties when full

participation in partnership resumes.


Municipal employees

National Museum of Ireland curatorLar Joye, who works in Collins barracks.

“My job is to reignite a passion for history. Museums need to be more customer-orientated in the modern world as people have less free time. There is a need for keeping academic standards

high, but also engaging and listening to people,” says Lar.

Services and enterprises

CoillteAgreement on an overall pay and pensions package was reached at the Labour Relations Commission. It was

agreed to introduce employee pension contributions modeled on the civil service ‘pension levy’ to overcome

the €90 million pension scheme deficit. Management agreed to take additional measures to address the deficit

including additional cash injections and the assignment of non-cash assets. It was agreed that the introduction

of the proposed pension contributions would not negate or adversely affect any statutory protections in

relation to the pension entitlements of Coillte employees, or any historical industrial relations linkages.

The pension contributions are subject to annual reviews in line with the public service ‘pension levy’

legislation. Aside from increments, no more than 2% of any increases in pensionable pay over the five years

from January 2009 will be pensionable. Pension increases will also be subject to a cap averaging 2% a year

over the same period. The 13 or so employees who had been refused access to the pension scheme were to

be admitted and new arrangements are to be agreed for new entrants. The pension contribution structure is

set out in the table.


It was agreed that Coillte’s ability to pay phase one of the Towards 2016 transitional agreement would be

reviewed in early 2010 without any provision for retrospection. Agreement was reached on payment of 0.5%

due from January 2008. This will also be reviewed in early 2010 but, in any event, payment will be made no

later than the end of 2011 and retrospection will be paid from January 2008. IMPACT agreed to waive a 2% lump

sum due under team performance pay, but the current agreement will continue until a replacement is agreed.

The parties agreed to meet to discuss proposals for a new reward model. It was also agreed that increments

would continue to be paid.

Communications The Eircom ESOT balloted participants on the proposal by Singapore-based STT Communications to take over

Eircom in conjunction with the ESOT. The takeover was approved by a 96.5% majority after the IMPACT branch

issued a recommendation to back the proposal. This reflected the extent of the dissatisfaction with the previous

owners Babcock and Browne experienced by unions and the ESOT.

Coillte pension contribution structure

Remuneration Contribution rate Contribution rate

on pensionable on net pensionable

remuneration remuneration

Up to €15,000 0.0% 0.0%

€15-20,000 1.5% 3.5%

€20-60,000 3.0% 7.0%

More than €60,000 2.0% 7.5%



Agreement was reached on an initial restructuring accord. The outcome included agreement at the Labour

Relations Commission to defer any payment under the national agreement until July 2011 when a review will

take place. Mileage, subsistence, bonus and time in lieu are being reduced or eliminated. Headcount will be

reduced by 1,200, including contractors, and talks on additional measures are to take place.

The company continued to seek voluntary salary reductions, mainly from staff on personal contracts. An accord

was reached between the unions and Eircom to address its financial difficulties and this included a pay freeze

to 2011 as well as other cost containment measures.

Discussions took place on the necessary steps to protect and preserve the pension scheme in the light of the

significant deficit that has emerged. Agreement was reached and the defined benefit scheme remains open to

future accrual for active members with no increase in member contributions. The employer contribution was

increased to a minimum amount for three years with a cash floor. Pensionable pay was frozen to 31st

December 2013 and any increase in remuneration between 1st July 2011 and 31st December 2013 will be by

way of non-pensionable allowance. Thereafter growth in pensionable pay and allowances is limited to the

lower of actual increases or CPI with a maximum of 4%. The CPI ceiling will reduce to 2.5% over time. Any pay

increases awarded in excess of the pension cap will be non pensionable under the defined benefits scheme,

but will qualify for defined contribution cover. For new members, a defined contribution plan will have

standard employee contributions of 4% and employer contributions of 6% with an optional higher rate of 6%

and 9%.

IMPACT members in Vodafone experienced an imposed pay freeze in 2009 but the company agreed to continue

to pay bonuses to members. The company refused to use the inability to pay provisions in the national

agreement for staff on graded pay scales as it was clear that the company was making significant profits and

was using the economic downturn as an excuse to curtail pay costs.

AviationThe multi-employer Irish aviation superannuation scheme is in deficit. Agreement was reached with Aer Lingus

on a process to address the problems in the pension scheme and the Labour Relations Commission appointed

Frank Flynn to give technical assistance to the process. The intention is to develop solutions in consultation with

the actuarial, legal and financial advisers to the company, unions and trustees. Key principles agreed are that

the options proposed will facilitate the employer’s ability to sustain viable pension arrangements and protect

accrued benefits. The company confirmed that it would not take unilateral action on the pension scheme while

the process was underway and professional advisers to the unions were appointed.

Following discussions in ICTU, it was agreed by unions representing workers in Aer Lingus and the Dublin

Airport Authority (DAA) that the preferred outcome was to divide the scheme into its separate company

components and the trustees of the scheme were advised of this approach. There were also detailed

discussions on the best means to address the deficit in the Aer Lingus pilots’ scheme and a combination of

benefit alterations and increased employee contributions was agreed.

IMPACT members in the DAA voted to accept a cost recovery programme by a three–to-one majority. The key

terms of the agreement included a voluntary severance scheme, changes to sick pay and overtime, non-

payment of the pay terms of the Towards 2016 transitional agreement and graduated salary reductions.

Significantly, earnings below €30,000 were exempt from the reductions. Management committed to seek to

restore the basic pay levels once matters improve and a formula for pay restoration was agreed, which

included the payment of once-off lump sums as interim measures as the Authority restores its financial

position.

Following months of delay in addressing the Towards 2016 transitional agreement’s pay terms in the Irish

Aviation Authority, the Labour Court issued two recommendations on pay and the treatment of normal

ongoing change. The Court found in favour of the union on the pay terms and awarded increases under both

phases of the transitional agreement. These will apply in January and July 2011 with any retrospection being

paid into the pension fund as a once-off cash injection to address the scheme’s deficit. The Court ruled that work

on a number of projects was normal ongoing change. But while awaiting the Court hearing on the matter, the

Authority suspended a number of air traffic controllers prompting a four-hour work stoppage.

Following protracted discussions with Aer Lingus, agreement was reached on the company’s ‘greenfield’ cost

reduction proposals. These included a pay reduction formula based on no reduction on the first €45,000 of

basic pay and a graduated reduction rising to 10% on earnings over €75,000. A pay freeze will apply until the

end of 2012. A voluntary severance package was agreed and average flying hours of 850 per year will apply.

A 10% deduction will apply to all points on the pilots salary scale and performance pay thresholds have been

raised. A gain sharing arrangement worth €25 million has been agreed and up to €5 million will be distributed

to staff once an agreed operating profit is reached. Half this amount will be divided equally to all staff and the

other half will be based on basic salary. This scheme will be reviewed in 2012.

Agreement was also reached on protections that will allow the company to fly into the Republic of Ireland

from its Gatwick base and enter into code sharing and franchise arrangements for turboprop aircraft. No

compulsory redundancies will arise from these initiatives. Aer Lingus will also operate a joint venture with

United Airlines flying from Washington DC to Madrid.

Agreement on pay increases was reached with CHC Helicopters, which operates the coastguard helicopter

service. These follow the broad template of Towards 2016 with a 3.5% increase from 1st May 2010 and a 2.5%

increase from 1st May 2011. A difficulty emerged regarding the operation of the permanent health insurance

arrangement and a ballot for industrial action was considered.

Community sectorFollowing the conclusion of a pension case between the HSE and home help organisers, which provided for

the payment of an ex gratia lump sum in lieu of pension based on 4.5 weeks pay per year of service subject

to a cap of 1.5 times annual salary, IMPACT has written to FÁS seeking talks on behalf of community

employment supervisors. This followed an earlier Labour Court recommendation that a scheme should be

introduced.

IMPACT and Siptu have discussed the possibility of establishing a more formal forum for discussing

community and voluntary sector issues with the Department of Finance. The intention is to identify who is

coordinating policy in relation to the proposed integration of community services and the associated

rationalisation of organisations, provide a structure to address recommendations from the relevant industrial

relations institutions, and facilitate union input into the decision-making process.

The union has had to address significant redundancies in this area due to amalgamations. Pobal, which is the

funding administrator for many community schemes, saw a significant reduction in its finances and a 40%

reduction in staffing through non-renewal of fixed-term contracts and redundancies. The union was successful

in securing redundancy terms or ex gratia payments for all staff that left under redundancy or termination of

contract. In early 2010 the union was resisting attempts by Pobal to cut pay on the grounds that it was not

covered by the relevant legislation. The Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs decided to

close all community development programmes (CDPs) and amalgamate them into partnership companies

over the next year. It also decided to close 24 CDPs, but ten appeals were successful.

Non-commercial semi-state agenciesLike their colleagues elsewhere in the public service, staff in the various non-commercial agencies suffered

reductions in their income through the pay cuts and so-called ‘pension levy’. Many agencies were also targeted

for amalgamation or abolition by the McCarthy report.

Industrial action was initiated in the following employments as part of the public service-wide dispute: An

Bord Pleanála, Fáilte Ireland, Health and Safety Authority, Marine Institute, Sea Fisheries Protection Authority,

National Library of Ireland, National Museum, Foras Na Gaeilge, Bord Bia, Broadcasting Commission of

Ireland, Commission for Taxi Regulation, Institute of Public Administration, National Centre for Partnership

and Performance, National Concert Hall, National Economic and Social Council, National Qualifications

Authority of Ireland, NSAI, Pobal, Royal Irish Academy, RPII, Teagasc, Western Development Commission,

FETAC, Office of Tobacco Control, Ordnance Survey, Financial Services Ombudsman, and city and county

enterprise boards. Additional cuts were tabled by Teagasc with a programme of office closures across the

country that would have significant implications for staff in isolated locations. Union membership continued

to increase in the sector, notwithstanding job losses through the moratorium on filling vacant posts.



The 2010 launch of IMPACT’s inner city fund, which supports education and intercultural projects in Dublin’s north-east inner city.

Appendices

Appendix one Mileage and subsistence

Motor mileage rates (local authorities and health boards)Effective 5th March 2009

Rates per mile

Official motor travel Engine capacity Engine capacity Engine capacity in calendar year up to 1200cc 1201 to 1500cc 1501 and over

cent cent cent

up to 4,000 miles 64.54 76.94 97.59

4,001 miles and over 34.91 39.14 47.36

Rates per kilometre


cent cent cent

up to 6,437km 40.11 47.82 60.88

6,438km and over 21.70 24.33 29.43

Motorcycle allowanceEffective 5th March 2009

Rates per mile

Official motor travel Engine capacity Engine capacity Engine capacity Engine capacityin calendar year up to 150cc 151 to 250cc 251 to 600cc 601cc and over

cent cent cent cent

up to 4,000 miles 23.29 32.34 38.16 46.01

4,001 miles and over 15.07 21.42 24.61 28.31

Rates per kilometre

Official motor travel Engine capacity Engine capacity Engine capacity Engine capacityin calendar year up to 150cc 151 to 250cc 251 to 600cc 601cc and over

cent cent cent cent

up to 6,437km 14.48 20.10 23.72 28.59

6,438km and over 9.37 13.31 15.29 17.60


Appendix one - Mileage and subsistence


Appendix one - Mileage and subsistence

Domestic subsistence ratesEffective 5th March 2009

NIGHT ALLOWANCES DAY ALLOWANCES

Class of Normal Reduced Detention 10hrs 5hrs but less allowances rate rate rate or more than 10hrs

A1 €108.99 €100.48 €54.48 €33.61 €13.71

B2 €107.69 €92.11 €53.87 €33.61 €13.71

1 Salary of €55,780

2 Salary of €55,779.99 and below

Motor mileage rates (civil service)Effective 5th March 2009

Rates per mile


cent cent cent

up to 4,000 miles 62.94 74.42 95.05

4,001 miles and over 34.13 38.00 45.79

Rates per kilometre


cent cent cent

up to 6,437km 39.12 46.25 59.07

6,438km and over 21.22 23.62 28.46

Civil service reduced motor travel ratesRates per mile Engine capacity Engine capacity Engine capacity

up to 1200cc 1201 to 1500cc 1501 and over

23.55 26.76 34.36

Rates per kilometre Engine capacity Engine capacity Engine capacity up to 1200cc 1201 to 1500cc 1501 and over

14.64 16.64 19.49

Domestic subsistence ratesEffective 5th March 2009

NIGHT ALLOWANCES DAY ALLOWANCES

Class of Normal Reduced Detention 10hrs 5hrs but less allowances rate rate rate or more than 10hrs

A €108.99 €100.48 €54.48 €33.61 €13.71

B €107.69 €92.11 €53.87 €33.61 €13.71


Appendix two - Branch secretaries

Appendix two Branch secretariesAgricultural Laboratories Benny Conaty, Central

Meat Control Laboratory, Backweston Campus,

Youngs Cross, Celbridge, Co Kildare.

Agriculture No1 John Walsh, IMPACT, Nerney’s

Court, Dublin 1.

Air Traffic Control Ian McDonald, Air Traffic Control

Tower, Shannon Control Centre, Ballycasey Cross,

Shannon, Co Clare.

AMRO (Civil Service) Patrick Canning, Malin Head

Coast Guard, Malin Head, Co Donegal.

AMRO (Services & Enterprises) Paul O’Shea, Shan-

non Air Radio, Ballygirreen, Newmarket-on-Fergus,

Co Clare.

An Bord Pleanala Christopher Byrne, An Bord

Pleanala, 64 Marlborough Street, Dublin 1.

Architectural Engineering and Heritage Willie Cum-

ming, Duchas Heritage Services, Dun Sceine, Har-

court Lane, Dublin 2.

Archivists Brian Donnolly, National Arch ives, Bishop

Street, Dublin 8.

Aviation, Safety & Regulatory John Sullivan, Room

301, IAA, Aviation House, Hawkins Street, Dublin 2.

Ballinasloe Sean Dowling, Health Service Executive,

East Galway Mental Health Service, St Bridgets Hos-

pital, Ballinasloe, Co Galway.

Boards & Agencies Una O’Connor, Sophia Housing

Association, 25 Cork Street, Dublin 8.

Cabin Crew Denise Molloy, c/o IMPACT, Nerney’s

Court, Dublin 1.

Carlow local government Margaret Quinlan, IT De-

partment, Carlow Council Council, County Hall, Car-

low. Health Ann Daly, Social Work Department,

Health Service Executive South, St Dympna’s Hos-

pital, Athy Road, Carlow.

Cavan local government Kate Ryan, Border Re-

gional Authority, Corlurgan Business Park, Ballinagh

Road, Cavan. Health Katherine McLoughlin, Social

Work Department, Child and Family Serivces, Dru-

malee Cross, Cavan, Co Cavan.

Central Statistics Office Brian Ring, Business Sta-

tistics Integration, Central Statistics Office, Skehard

Road, Cork.

Civil Service No.1 Thomas Madden, 25a Portnick

Drive, Ballinasloe, Co Galway.

Clare Carl Hale, Clare County Council, County Build-

ing, New Road, Ennis, Co. Clare.

CLME Martin Haran, Bree, Malin Head, Inishowen,

Co. Donegal.

Coillte John Lyons, Codrum, Macroom, Co Cork.

Communications Joe Bonner, Eircom, Plan/Design

Department, Telephone House, Marlborough Street,

Dublin 1.

Community Employment Supervisors Paddy Quinn,

3 Hill View, Mountrath Road, Portlaoise, Co Laois.

Conservation Rangers James Richard Kilroy, Bally-

croy National Park, Lagduff More, Ballycroy, West-

port, Co Mayo.

Cork Maeve McCarthy Barret, IMPACT Cork Office,

Fr Matthew Quay, Cork.

Court Ushers Martin McCarthy, c/o Mr Justice

Finnegan, The Supreme Court, Four Courts, Dublin 7.

Dairy Produce Inspectors Martin Rea, Department of

Agriculture & Food, Agriculture House, Floor 3c, Kil-

dare Street, Dublin 2.

DoE Inspectors Liam Francis Doyle, Water Inspec-

torate, Water & Natural Heritage Division, Depart-

ment of Environment Heritage & Local Government,

Floor 2, Block 1, Lower Life Buildings, Lower Abbey

Street, Dublin 1.

Donegal local government Niamh Brennan, Done-

gal County Council, 1st Floor (archives), 3 Rivers

Centre, Lifford, Co Donegal. Health Kathleen Gib-

bons, HSE Training Centre, Kilmacrennan Raod, Let-

terkenny, Co Donegal.

Driver Testers Martin Slattery, 12 Coulson Avenue,

Rathgar, Dublin 6.

Dublin Care Services Eamon Hughes, c/o IMPACT,

Nerney’s Court, Dublin 1.

Dublin City Linda Mc Grath, Dublin City Council,

Roads & Traffic Administration, Block 4, Floor 3, Civic

Offices, Dublin 8.

Dublin Hospitals Anthony Martin, Supplies Depart-

ment, Tallaght Hospital, Tallaght, Dublin 24.

Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown Roisin Cronin, Dun

Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, Level 2, Co -

unty Hall, Marine Road, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin.

Energy Ray Scanlon, Geological Survey of Ireland,

Beggars Bush, Haddington Road, Dublin 4.

Failte Ireland Tony Dawson, Failte Ireland, Forster

Street, Galway.

FGE Thomas Cowman, Department of Agriculture

and Food, Johnstown Castle, New Building, Co Wex-

ford.

Fingal Helen Gad, Fingal County Council, Grove

Road, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15.

Forensic Science Judy Price, Forensic Science Lab-

oratory, Garda HQ, Phoenix Park, Dublin 8.

Gaeltacht Peadar MacDiarmada, Roinn na Gael -

tachta, Na Forbacha, Gallaimh.

Galway Tom Browne, c/o City Library, St Augustine

Street, Galway.

Government Supplies Agency Paddy Wilson, Gov-

ernment Supply Agency, 51 St Stephens Green,

Dublin 2.

GVO Professional Deirdre McGennis, Valuation Of-

fice, Irish Life Centre, Abbey Street Lower, Dublin 1.

GVO Technical Derek O’Brien, Valuation Office, Irish

Life Centre, Lower Abbey Street, Dublin 1.

Health & Safety Authority Mark Patrick Madigan,

Health and Safety Authority, Metropolitan Building,

James Joyce Street, Dublin 1.

High Court and Supreme Court Officers Sonia Mur-

phy, Department of Justice, Phoenix House, Phoenix

Street, Dublin 7.

Housing Inspectors David Connolly, Department of

the Environment, Custom House, Custom House

Quay, Dublin 1.

HSE North Dublin Fionnuala Kelly, HSE Dublin

North, Damastown Health Centre, Damastown

Close, Mulhuddart, Dublin 15.

HSE South Dublin Catherine T Reilly, HSE Dublin

South, Office Systems Technology, Dr Steevens Hos-

pital, Steevens Lane, Dublin 8.

IAESAVincent Lynch, Dublin Airport Authority, GPCP,

2nd Floor Cloghran House, Dublin Airport, Co

Dublin.

IALPA Alan Brereton, IALPA, IMPACT Office, Corbal-

lis Park, Dublin Airport, Co Dublin.

Institutes of Technology Norrie O’Callaghan,

Athlone Institute of Technology, Dublin Road,

Athlone, Co Westmeath.

Kerry Mary Mc Carthy, HSE, Ground Floor, O’Sulli-

van Cremin Accountants, Park Road, Killarney, Co

Kerry.

Kildare Marianne Hogan, County Library Headquar-

ters, River Bank, Newbridge, Co Kildare.

Kildare HSE Joanne Darcy Dempsey, HSE Dublin

South, St Marys, Craddockstown, Naas, Co Kildare.

Kilkenny health Sharon Young, HIPE Dept, St Lukes

Hospital, Kilkenny. Local government Jacqueline

Kendlin, Finance Department, Kilkenny County

Council, Johns Street, Kilkenny.

Land Commission Inspectors John Prendergast,

Land Commission Office, Government Buildings,

Cranmore, Sligo.

Laois Gerard Monaghan, Fire Prevention & Safety

Officer, Hamco Building, Cloncollig Industrial Es-

tate, Tullamore, Co Offaly.

Legal Officers Michael Collins, Chief State Solicitors

Office, Osmond House, Little Ship Street, Dublin 8.

Legal Professional Una Keating, c/o Michael Mur-

phy, Office of the Attorney General, Government

Buildings, Upper Merrion Street, Dublin 2.

Leitrim local government Alan Martin, 11 Mount

Temple, Carrick-On-Shannon, Co Leitrim. HealthMary Dolan, Stramore, Drumshanbo Po, Co Leitrim.

Limerick local government Sinead Burke, Limerick

City Council, Housing Department, City Hall, Mer-

chant`s Quay, Limerick. Health Ann Clancy, Super-

annuation Department, 1st Floor Howleys Quay,

Bedford Place, Shannon Street, Limerick.

Local Enterprise David Orford, Tolka Area Partner-

ship, Rosehill House, Finglas Road, Dublin 11.

Local Government Auditors Marita A Gonsalves,

Local Government Auditors, Bayview House, Rush-

brooke, Cobh, Co Cork.

Longford Noelle Cashin, Health Service Executive,

Social Work Department, Tivoli House, Dublin Road,

Longford.

Louth local government Ciaran Rafferty, Staff Offi-

cer, Accounts Section, Dundalk Town Council, Crowe

Street, Dundalk, Co Louth. Health Barbara Kelly, Pro-

curement Office HSE, Unit 6, East Coast Business

Park, Matthews Lane, Drogheda, Co Louth.

Marine (Civil Service) Eugene Wallace, Department

of the Marine & Natural Resources, Ross Road, Tagh-

mon, Co Wexford.

Marine (Services and Enterprise) Jennifer Doyle,

Marine Institute Headquarters, Rinville West, Oran-

more, Co Galway.

Mayo local government Aine Regan, Mayo County

Council, Aras An Chontae, Castlebar, Co Mayo.

Health Cathy Blake, Accounts Department, Mayo

General Hospital, Castlebar, Co Mayo.

Meath local government Eugene Farrelly, c/o Envi-

ronment Department, Meath County Council,

County Hall, Railway Street, Navan, Co Meath

Health Rita Moran, Home Support Office, HSE

Dublin North East, Floor 1, Beechmount Shopping

Centre, Trim Road, Navan, Co Meath.

Medical Assessors Dr Ronan O’Callaghan, Medical

Referee, 29 Clonlea, Dublin 16.

Meteorologists Patrick J Clarke, Met Eireann, Glas-

nevin Hill, Dublin 9.

Monaghan local government John McGrory, Mon-

aghan County Council, The Glen, Monaghan Town,

Co Monaghan. Health Carol McGeough, HSE North

Eastern Region, St Davnet’s Hosptial, Monaghan

Town, Co Monaghan.

Municipal Employees David Greene, IMPACT, Ner-

neys Court, Dublin 1.



National Education Welfare Board Joanne Rafferty,

National Educational Welfare Board, 16/22 Green,

Street, Dublin 7.

National Library Frances Clarke, National Library of

Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin 2.

National Museum Orla Fitzpatrick, National Mu-

seum of Ireland, Collins Barracks, Benburb Street,

Dublin 7.

OCFA Sean O Dubhda, Teach Chill Dara, Sraid Chill

Dara, Baile Atha Cliath 2.

Offaly Peter Gerry Fox, Sanitary Department, Offaly

County Council, Aras An Chontae, Tullamore, County

Offaly.

Ordnance Survey Steven John Pilgrim, Ordnance

Survey Ireland, Airglooney House, Ballygaddy

Road, Tuam, Co Galway.

Oireachtas Ushers Andrew Fitzgerald, Oireachtas,

Leinster House, Kildare Street, Dublin 2.

PAOB Karl Walsh, Department of Agriculture, Fish-

eries & Food, Backweston Campus, Administration

Building, Stacumney Lane, Celbridge, Co Kildare.

Placenames Conchubhar O’Crualaoich, Ofig Logain-

meacha, Dún Aimhirgín, 43-49 Bóthar Mespil, Baile

Atha Cliath 4.

Post Primary Inspectorate and ExaminationsBranch Noirin Hynes, Room 15, Department of Edu-

cation & Skills, Block 3, Marlborough Street, Dublin 1.

Primary Inspectors Suzanne Conneely, Department

of Education and Science, Floor 2, O’Dowd Offices,

Bridge Street, Boyle, Roscommon.

Probation Officers Sinead O’Connell, Department of

Justice, The Probation Service, Haymarket, Smith-

field, Dublin 7.

Professional Accountants Stephen Boyd, Depart-

ment of Enterprise & Employment, Kildare Street,

Dublin 2.

Property Registration Authority Patrick Curran,

Property Registration Authority of Ireland, Govern-

ment Buildings, Cork Road, Waterford.

Psychologists Judith Leslie, NEPS, Frederick Court,

24/27 North Frederick Street, Dublin 1.

Publications and Terminology Padraic O’Farachtain,

Foras Na Gaeilge, An Gum, 24/27 Sraid Fhreidric,

Thuaidh, Baile Atha Cliath 1.

Roscommon local government Edward Walsh, c/o

Housing Department, Roscommon County Council,

The Courthouse, Roscommon. Health Frances Mc-

Cann, Boyle Health Centre, Boyle, Roscommon.

School Completion Programme James Kavanagh,

School Completion Branch, PO Box 11729, Swords,

Co Dublin.

School Secretaries Patricia Whelan, Presentation

College, Askea, Carlow.

Special Needs Assistants Helena Witherow, Royal

and Prior School, Raphoe, Co Donegal.

Special Education Needs Organisers Maire Aherne,

National Council for Special Education, SENO

Roscommon & East Mayo, c/o Government Offices,

Convent Road, Roscommon.

Sligo Sinead Costello, Sligo General Hospital, The

Mall, Sligo.

South Dublin Grace Clifford, IMPACT Office, c/o

South Dublin County Council, Town Hall, Tallaght,

Dublin 24.

State Enterprise No.1 Declan Joseph Mc Loughlin,

Broadcasting Commission of Ireland, 2/5 Warrington

Place, Dublin 2.

State Laboratory Claire Timbs, State Laboratory,

Youngs Cross, Celbridge, Co Kildare.

Teagasc Professional Grainne McMahon, Teagasc,

Kildalton Agricultural College, Piltown, Co Kilkenny.

Teagasc General Breege Foy, Teagasc, Abbey Road,

Ballinarobe, Co Mayo.

Tipperary North Louise Ryan, Thurles Town Council,

Slievenamon Road, Thurles, Co Tipperary.

Tipperary South Jacinta Cremmins, St Lukes Hospi-

tal, Western Road, Clonmel, Co Tipperary.

VEC Emer Walsh, Coláiste Stiofáin Naofa, Tramore

Road, Cork.

Waterford City Angela Power, 98 Clarke Road, Cork

Road Estate, Waterford.

Waterford County Mary O’Brien, Waterford County

Council, Civic Offices, Dungarvan , Co Waterford.

Waterways Ireland Michael Mc Kiernan, Waterways

Ireland, The Docks, Athlone, Co Westmeath.

Westmeath Yvonne Dowler, c/o St Mary`s Hospital,

Mullingar, Co Westmeath.

Wexford Noel Stacey, Wexford County Council,

County Hall, Wexford.

Wicklow Georgina Franey, Bray Town Council, Civic

Offices, Main Street, Bray, Co Wicklow.

Wicklow HSE Christopher Robinson, HSE Eastern

Health, Killarney Road Treatment Centre, Bray, Co

Wicklow.



Civil Service DivisionEngineers Allen Williams, Department of Marine

and Natural Resources, Leeson Lane, Dublin 2.

Lab technicians Anthony Gogarty, Department of

Agriculture and Food, Kildare Street, Dublin 1.

Health & Welfare DivisionAmbulance officers John O’Brien, 21 River Valley

Avenue, Swords, Co Dublin.

Biochemists Ger Collier, Biochemistry Department,

St Vincent’s University Hospital, Elm Park, Dublin 4.

Clinical measurement scientists (cardiac cath -eterisatoin) Ann Simpson, Adelaide and Meath

Hospital, Tallaght, Dublin 24.

Clinical measurement scientists (GI) Patricia

Lawlor, St James’s Hospital, PO Box 580, James’s

Street, Dublin 8.

Clinical managment scientists respiratory tech -nicians Michelle Agnew, St James’s Hospital, PO

Box 580, James’s Street, Dublin 8.

Clinical measurement scientists vascular tech -nicians Clare Dooley, Vascular Medicine

Department, Tallaght Hospital, Tallaght, Dublin 24.

Catering officers Yvonne Dowler, General Hospital,

Mullingar, Co Westmeath.

Child care managers John Quin, HSE Eastern

Region, Wicklow Local Health Office, Glenside

Road, Wicklow.

Chiropodists Carmel Devine, c/o County Clinic,

Bindon Street, Ennis, Co Clare.

Clerical officers Anne Joyce, c/o Unit 23A Sean

Mulvoy Business Park, Sean Mulvoy Road, Galway.

Clinical engineering professionals Bernard Murphy,

HSE Southern Region, Biomedical Engineering

Department, Cork University Hospital, Wilton Road,

Cork.

Comhairle Gwyn Grace, 7th Floor, Hume House,

Ballsbridge, Dublin 4.

Community welfare officers Des Stone, HSE

Coolock Health Centre, Cromcastle Road, Coolock,

Dublin 5.

Dental surgeons Joe Mullen, HSE North Western

Region, Community Care, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co

Leitrim.

Dental surgery assistants Una Breathnach, HSE

Western Region, Shantalla Health Centre, Shan -

talla, Galway.

Dietitians Ita Saul, Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick

Children, Crumlin, Dublin 12.

Dosimetrists Louise O’Neill, St Luke’s Hospital,

Highfield Road, Rathgar, Dublin 6.

Draughtman/technicians Rosaleen McDonagh,

Technical Services Department, Gate Lodge, Merlin

Park Hospital, Galway.

Environmental health officers Shane O’Flynn, HSE

Sothern Region, North Lee Community Care, 26

South Mall, Cork.

Executive analytical chemists Liam Dolan, Dublin

Public Analyst Laboratory, Sir Patrick Duns, Lower

Grand Canal Street, Dublin 2.

Family support workers Bernie O’Reilly, HSE

Dublin North East, Community Child and Family

Services, Drumalee Cross, Cavan.

Fire prevention officers Nicholas Keogh, Central

Office, HSE Midlands Region, Arden Road, Tulla -

more, Co Offaly.

FOI/DP liaison officers Liam Quirke, HSE Western

Area, Merlin Park Regional Hospital, Galway.

General managers Maria Fleming, 38 Wentworth

Place, Jigginstown, Naas, Co Kildare.

Grade IV-VII Patricia Mellsop, HSE Midland Region,

Midlands Regional Hospital, Arden Road, Tulla -

more, Co Offaly.

Grade VIII Eamonn Hannon, Laughil, Ardagh, Co

Longford.

Health promotion Andy Walker, Heart Health Team,

Carnegie Centre, Bishop Street, Newcastle West, Co

Limerick.

Health service librarians Ann Murphy, Adelaide and

Meath Hospital, Tallaght, Dublin 24.

Healthcare risk managers Debbie Dunne, HSE

Community and Primary Care Services, Unit 7,

Swords Business Campus, Balheary Road, Swords,

Co Dublin.


Appendix three - Vocational groups

Appendix threeVocational groups



Home help organisers Catherine Dempsey, HSE

Eastern Region, Poplar House, Poplar Square,

Naas, Co Kildare.

Hospital audiologists Cathal McGurgan, Hospital

Audiologist, Audiology Department, Sligo General

Hospital, Co Sligo.

HSE capital projects & technical service projectmanagers Arthur Ward, HSE Western Area, Gate

Lodge, Merlin Park Regional Hospital, Galway.

Information and advice officers Charney Weitzman,

Child Care Unit, Tullamore General Hospital,

Tullamore, Co Offaly.

Instructors Sheila Duddy, St Joseph’s Training

Centre, Snipe Avenue, Newcastle, Co Galway.

Internal auditors John Banks, HSE North Western

Region, 10 The Mall, Sligo.

Irish development officers Bairbre Uí Theighneáin,

Oifigeach Forbartha Gaeilge, Inniúlacht

Corporáideach, Lár-Oifig, Bord Sláinte Lár Tíre, An

Tulach Mhór, Co Uíbh Fhaillí.

Maintenance supervisors and officers John Forde,

Coscorrig, Loughrea, Co Galway.

National child care managers John Quinn, HSE,

Wicklow Local Health, Office, Glenside Road,

Wicklow.

National counselling service Helen O’Malley,

Harbour Counselling Service, HSE South, Penrose

Wharf, Penrose Quay, Cork.

Occupational guidance officers Donal Hoban,

HSE Western Region, St Mary’s Hospital, Castlebar,

Co Mayo.

Occupational therapists Donal Cassidy, HSE Dublin

North West Community Care, Rathdown Road,

Dublin 7.

Orthoptists Sheila Callanan, Boherquill,

Lismacaffrey, Co Westmeath.

Personnel officers Mary Kelly, HSE Northern Area

Region, Swords Business Campus, Swords, Co

Dublin.

Pharmacists Eileen Butler, Our Lady’s Hospital for

Sick Children, Crumlin, Dublin 15.

Pharmacy technicians Yvonne Sheehan, Tallaght


Physicists Niamh Byrne, Adelaide and Meath


Physiotherapists Clodagh Barry, Central Remedial

Clinic, Vernon Avenue, Clontarf, Dublin 3.

Play therapists Audrey Gregan, St Paul’s Hospital,

Beaumont, Dublin 9.

Psychologists Neil Austin, Adelaide & Meath


Public health nurses Eileen McCarrick, Kilbarrack

Health Centre, Kilbarrack, Dublin 13.

Regional directors of care/regional co-ordinators/regional general managers Willie Rattigan,

Disability Services, HSE Eastern Region, Mill Lane,

Palmerstown, Dublin 20.

Regional materials managers John O’Donovan,

Materials Management, HSE Southern Region, St

Finbarr’s Hospital, Douglas Road, Cork.

Secretary/managers Nicky Jermyn, CEO, St

Vincent’s Hospital, Elm Park, Dublin 4.

Specialist property managers Martin Beirne, HSE

Property Management, Waterfront House, Bridge

Street, Sligo.

Social care workers PJ Keating, 21 Crinken Glen,

Shankill, Co Dublin.

Social workers Neance Ni Rathaille, Social Work

Dept, St James`s Hospital, Dublin 8.

Speech and language therapists Precious Jenga,

Daughters of Charity, St Vincent’s Centre, Lisnagry,

Co Limerick.

Supplies officers Frank Nicholson, Central

Supplies, Kilcruttin Business Park, Tullamore, Co

Offaly.

Technical services Bernard Pierce, HSE Western

Region, Gate Lodge, Merlin Park Regional Hospital,

Galway.

Local Government DivisionArchitects Frances Power, City Architects, Dublin

City Council, Civic Offices, Wood Quay, Dublin 8.

Archivists Michael Lynch, Limerick Regional

Archives, The Granary, Michael Street, Limerick.

Arts officers Jenny Sherwin, Arts Officer, Wicklow

County Council, County Buildings Wicklow, Co

Wicklow.

Internal auditors Michael Bermingham, Kildare

County Council, St Mary's, Naas, Co Kildare.

Civil defence officers Edmond Cooney, Civil

Defence HQ, Heywood Road, Clonmel, Co

Tipperary.

Clerical officers Ann Joyce, Unit 23, Sean Mulvoy

Business Park, Sean Mulvoy Road, Co Galway.

Clerks of works Tim Callan, Laois County Council

County Hall, Portlaoise, Co Laois.

Community and enterprise development officersRena Cody, Waterford County Council, Dungarvan,

Co Waterford.

Directors of regional authorities Tom Kirby, Friar

Court, Abbey Street, Nenagh, Co Tipperary.

Education centres Grainne Haughney, Drumcondra

Education Centre, Drumcondra, Dublin 9.

Environmental workers Antoin Kiely, Limerick

County Council, Limerick

Estate managers Gerry Farrell, 26 Ard Aoibhinn,

Athenry, Co Galway.

Directors of finance Peter Scully, Laois County

Council, County Hall, Portlaoise.

Fire officers, chief Finian Joyce, Leitrim County

Council, Áras an Chontae, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co

Leitrim.

Fire officers, local authority Eoin O' Donnell,

Mallow Fire Station, Mallow, Co Cork.

Fire officers, national Michael Forrest, Fire Station,

Tralee, Co Kerry.

Grades IV to VII Patricia Mellsop, HSE Midland

Region, Midlands Regional Hospital, Arden Road,

Tullamore, Co Offaly.

Heritage officers Lorcan Scott, Carlow County

Council, County Offices, Carlow.

IT officers Marion O’Neill, Health Information

Systems, South Tipperary County Council, Emmet

Street, Co Tipperary.

Legal assistants Vacant.

County and city librarians Donal Tinney, County

Library, Sligo.

Executive librarians Tony Cox, Donore, Multifarn -

ham, Co Westmeath.

Library assistants/senior library assistants Angela

Reilly, Monaghan County Library, The Diamond,

Clones, Co Monaghan.

Branch librarians Breda Bollard, Bohilla,

Whitechurch Road, Dublin 14.

Museum curators Liam Bradley, Monaghan County

Museum, Monaghan Town, Co Monaghan.

Planners Alison Scott, Planning Department, Dublin

City Council, Civic Offices, Dublin 8.

Revenue collectors Sean O’Reilly, Cavan County

Council, Cavan.

Social workers Pat Richardson, Dublin City Council,

Civic Offices, Dublin 8.

Solicitors Thomas J O'Donohoe, 7 Pollnarooma

West, Knocknacarra, Galway.

Local authority storekeepers Sean McHugh, Sligo

County Council, Riverside, Sligo.

Technicians John Menton, Westmeath County

Council, Mullingar, Co Westmeath.

Town clerks David Coleman, Tipperary UDC, Town

Clerk's Office, Dan Breen House, Co Tipperary.

Veterinary officers Michael O’Sullivan, Cavan

County Council, Court House, Cavan.




Appendix four - Central executive committee 2008-2010

Appendix fourCentral executive committee 2008-2010President John Power

Vice Presidents Margaret Coughlan

Charlie Gantley

Isabell Murphy

Kevin O’Malley

Honourary Treasurer Billy Gallagher

Honourary Secretary Alice Hennessy

Honourary Equality Officer Gerry Monaghan

Civil Service Bobby Carty

Eugene Dunne from July 2009

Una Geaney until July 2009

John O’Flanagan until July 2009

Andy Walsh from July 2009

Health and Welfare Adrienne Byrne

Dolores Callanan from July 2009

Richard Fitzgerald until July 2009

Sophia O’Reilly

Local Government Frank Branningan until July 2009

Martin Flanagan until July 2009

Jerry King from July 2009

Tom Murray

Patricia Whelan from July 2009

Municipal Employees Francis Byrne

Chris Finnerty until July 2009

Michael Tomney from July 2009

Services and Enterprises Pierce Dillon

David Jackson until July 2009

Joe May

Michael Scully from July 2009

Immediate Past President Nicholas Keogh from July 2009

Finbarr O’Driscoll until July 2009

There were 26 Central Executive Meetings held from June 2008-February 2010 (inclusive). Attendance at

these meetings can be optained from the General Secretary’s office.


Appendix five - Divisional executive committees

Appendix fiveDivisional executive committeesCivil Service DivisionChairperson Eugene Dunne

Vice Chairperson Andy Walsh

Members Bobby Carty, Marian Cody, Benny Conaty, Alan Duffy,

Debbie Ivers, Edward Massey, Siobhan Ni Griofa, Pol

O'Gaibhin, John O’Flanagan, Judy Price, Thomas Ryder,

Philip Slattery, Sheila Smith.

Health and Welfare DivisionChairperson Sophia O’Reilly

Vice Chairperson Adrienne Byrne

Members Martin Bridgeman, Dolores Callanan, Ashley Connolly,

Sean Dowling, David Hackett, Eamon Hannan, John

McCarthy, Phil McFadden, Patricia Mellsop, Ruth Robinson,

Denis Rooney, Matthew Tully, Sinead Wynne.

Local Government DivisionChairperson Tom Murray

Vice Chairperson Jerry King

Members Frank Brannigan, Tom Browne, Pat Considine, Eugene

Farrelly, Martin Flanagan, Raymond Kennedy, Josephine

McCarthy, Joseph Sherlock, Cait Shirran, Patricia Whelan.

Municipal Employees’ DivisionPresident Francis Byrne

Vice President Michael Tomney

Members Michael Burke, Denis Cahill, Michael Clarke, Terry Crosbie,

Stephen Curran, Francis Doyle, John Gaynor, Anthony

Gibson, David Greene, Damien Guilfoyle, Seamus

Kavanagh, Thomas Kavanagh, Ros MacCobb, Francis

McLoughlin, Michael McLoughlin, Patrick Morris, Thomas

Murtagh, Declan O’Brien, Michael Ross, Edward Smith,

Mark Wynne.

Services and Enterprises DivisionChairperson Joe May

Vice Chairperson Michael Scully

Members Joe Bonner, Aoife Clabby, Paul Crinion, Evan Cullen,

Tony Dawson, Ciounnaith De Hamaltuin, Pierce Dillon,

Ernest Donnelly, Bernard Flood, Ian McDonald, Colm

O’Dwyer, Paul O’Shea, Patrick Quinn.

Appendix sixStaffGeneral Secretary Peter McLoone

Deputy General Secretary Shay Cody

National Secretaries Tom Brady (municipal employees)

(Retired December 2009)

Kevin Callinan (health & welfare)

Bernard Harbor (communications)

Paddy Keating (general manager)

Peter Nolan (local government)

Louise O’Donnell (civil service)

Assistant General Secretaries Pat Bolger Michael Landers

Denis Calnan Marie Levis

Christina Carney Stephen Lyons

Richy Carrothers Brendan McKay

Shay Clinton Philip Mullen

Christine Cully Padraig Mulligan

Gerry Dolan Geraldine O’Brien

Eamonn Donnelly Stephen O’Neill

Josephine Fogarty Andy Pike

Johnny Fox Des Robinson

Brian Gorman Denis Rohan

Stella Griffin Ray Ryan

Tom Hoare Robbie Ryan

Janet Hughes Matt Staunton

Hilary Kelleher

Angela Kirk

Personal Assistant to the General Secretary Teresa Griffin

Executive Assistant Valerie West

Senior Personal Assistants Elaine Elliott (health & welfare)

Julie Healy (civil service)

Nuala O’Driscoll (local government)

Jacinta O’Sullivan (services and enterprises)

Personal Assistants Bernie Aston

Elizabeth Breen

Linda Casey (part time)

Judith Coffey

Noeline Deegan

Margaret Gorman


Appendix six - Staff

Personal Assistants Eileen Grehan (part time)

Carol Foster

Jennifer Flaherty

Ailish Kearney (part time)

Joan Kepple

Joan King

Rita Lidierth

Jennifer McKenna (career break)

John Meehan

Bridget Murphy

Carol Nevin (part time)

Deirdre O’Brien

Anna O’Donoghue

Mary O’Neill

Maureen Rooke (part time)

Brid Ruddle

Jackie Spoonley

Jojo Taaffe (part time)

Carol Timmons

Receptionists/Telephonists Margaret Jackson

Ann Tiernan (part time)

COMMUNICATIONS UNITCommunications Officer Niall Shanahan

Administrative Roisin Nolan

Martina O’Leary (part time)

Patricia O’Mahony (part time)

ACCOUNTSFinance Officer Anna Leonard

Senior Accounts Officer Silvana del Valle Cardozo

Accounts Administrative Officer Aideen Sharry (job sharing)

Accounts Officers Mohamad Abdillahi Abdi

Margaret Butler

Mairead Hanratty

Membership Officer Siobhan Maguire

Post Room Brid Nic Aodha Bhui

General Assistant Frank O’Donnell

Service Assistants Maureen Crosbie

Svetlana Smytkova


Appendix six - Staff

Appendix sevenICTU committees and affiliations


Appendix seven - ICTU committees and affiliations

ICTU Executive CouncilPeter McLoone, Shay Cody, Louise O’Donnell.

ICTU General Purposes CommitteePeter McLoone.

ICTU Public Services CommitteePeter McLoone (Chairperson), Kevin Callinan, Shay

Cody, Bernard Harbor, Peter Nolan, Louise

O’Donnell, John Power.

ICTU Global Solidarity CommitteeShay Cody, Bernard Harbor.

ICTU Disputes CommitteeBobby Carty.

ICTU Youth CommitteeCiara Browne, Brian Furey.

ICTU Retired Workers CommitteeMick Duffy, Jerry Walsh.

ICTU Liaison Group on DisabilityPat Fallon, Gerald Monaghan.

ICTU Women’s CommitteeAdrienne Byrne.

ICTU Equality NetworkPaddy Keating.

ICTU Health, Safety and Welfare CommitteeBobby Carty.

ICTU Communications Strategy TeamBernard Harbor, Niall Shanahan.

North-South GroupPeter McLoone.

Private Sector Industrial CommitteeShay Cody.

Social Employment Scheme Monitoring Committee Christina Carney.

Other Affiliations

European Federation of Public Service UnionsPeter McLoone (Executive Committee), Kevin Calli -

nan (Health Committee), Peter Nolan (Local and

Regional Government Committee), Louise O’Donn -

ell (Standing Committee on National and European

Administration).

EurocadresPeter Nolan (Executive Committee).

Institute of European AffairsShay Cody, Bernard Harbor, Paddy Keating, Peter

McLoone.

Affiliation to other bodiesAmnesty International, Dublin Council of Trade

Unions, Excellence Ireland, European Transport Fed -

eration, Foundation for Fiscal Studies, Institute of

Public Administration, Irish Labour History Society,

Irish Senior Citizens Parliament, National Irish Safety

Organisation, National Women's Council of Ireland,

People's College, Public Services International,

Retirement Planning Council.

Appendix eight - Extracts from IMPACT accounts

Appendix eightExtracts from IMPACT accounts

General Fund for the year ended 31 December 20092009 2008 2007

Income € € €

Subscription income 13,485,974 11,837,089 11,189,717

Investment income 341,831 227,266 205,809

Other income 16,687 75,113 -

Loan interest receivable 549 564 810

Total income 13,845,041 12,140,032 11,396,336

Expenditure

Administration, establishment and general expenses -10,576,341 -9,503,472 -8,726,315

Other finance costs -282,000 231,000 240,968

Surplus for year before tax 2,986,700 2,867,560 2,910,989

Share in FUGE surplus - - 61,537

Tax -68,728 -45,566 -37,454

Surplus for year after tax 2,917,972 2,821,994 2,935,072

Statement of total recognised gains and losses


Net actuarial gains/(losses):

Defined benefit pension scheme -1,319,000 -7,611,000 2,672,819

Decrease/(increase) in provision for ex-gratia pensions 424,580 -73,425 5,557

Total recognised gains and losses 2,023,552 -4,862,431 5,613,448

Movement in the General Fund for the year

Original surplus brought forward 2,455,770 7,318,201 1,704,753

Total recognised gains and losses 2,023,552 -4,862,431 5,613,448

Surplus at end of year 4,479,322 2,455,770 7,318,201


Developing World Fund 2009 2008 2007

Income € € €

Subscription income 529,845 480,389 441,238

Deposit interest 4,157 3,989 2,150

Total income 534,002 484,378 443,388

Expenditure

Projects -474,615 -579,805 -435,885

Surplus/(deficit) for year before tax 59,387 -95,427 7,503

Tax -858 -798 -430

Surplus/(deficit) for year after tax 58,529 -96,225 7,073

Surplus at beginning of year 25,505 121,730 114,657

Surplus at end of year 84,034 25,505 121,730

Dispute Fund 2009 2008 2007

Income € € €

Subscription income 1,766,151 1,601,295 1,470,796

Investment income

- Profit on disposal of investments 727,330 - 19,220

- Deposit/government stocks interest and dividends paid 515,700 785,840 666,252

- Rent receivable 99,702 99,702 99,702

Total income 3,108,883 2,486,837 2,255,970

Expenditure

Commission on purchase of investments 15,940 - 7,516

Investment consultancy fees 24,275 24,225 24,200

Legal and other dispute fund costs 131,038 36,245 -

Depreciation 250,099 249,844 244,980

Total expenditure 421,352 310,314 276,696

Surplus for year before tax 2,687,531 2,176,523 1,979,274

Tax -125,191 -164,942 -152,548


Surplus at beginning of year 24,703,788 22,692,207 20,865,481

Surplus at end of year 27,266,128 24,703,788 22,692,207



Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2009 2008 2007

€ € €

Tangible fixed assets 10,467,776 10,774,329 10,672,978

Investments 11,029,147 9,165,426 9,165,426

Subtotal 21,496,923 19,939,755 19,838,404

Current Assets

Debtors and prepayments 2,360,076 2,259,035 2,183,443

Cash on deposit and at bank 17,545,535 13,982,777 11,146,078

Subtotal 19,905,611 16,241,812 13,329,521

Creditors (amounts falling due within one year) -1,636,329 -1,277,052 -1,907,293

Net current assets 18,269,282 14,964,760 11,422,228

Total assets less current liabilities 39,766,205 34,904,516 31,260,632

Provision for liabilities and charges -7,936,721 -7,719,453 -1,128,494

Net assets 31,829,484 27,185,063 30,132,138

Represented by

General Fund 4,479,322 2,455,770 7,318,201

Dispute Fund 27,266,128 24,703,788 22,692,207

Developing World Fund 84,034 25,505 121,730

Total 31,829,484 27,185,063 30,132,138

General Fund expenditure analysis 2009 2008 2007

Building € € €

Rent, rates and insurance 247,013 221,332 139,110

Light and heat 73,223 79,198 62,305

Security 52,844 53,495 68,042

Canteen and cleaning 98,417 91,859 113,544

Subtotal 471,497 445,884 383,001

Equipment

Maintenance 49,194 34,993 46,169

Repairs and renewals 38,656 80,704 52,961

Information technology developments 194,858 190,864 101,276

Membership system data maintenance 88,963 42,950 -

Depreciation 159,995 166,598 131,226

Subtotal 531,666 516,109 331,632





Staff 2009 2008 2007

€ € €

Salaries and secondment costs 6,123,847 5,932,656 5,192,680

Pension scheme 400,550 484,000 706,752

Income continuance and insured pension costs 206,704 203,070 184,717

Recruitment expenses 35,584 8,636 34,921

Staff travel and subsistence 268,419 346,478 316,736

Staff training 22,520 33,993 25,719

Other employment costs 18,188 30,439 9,915

Subtotal 7,075,812 7,039,272 6,471,440

Communications

Printing and stationery 138,976 159,648 109,433

Telephone 138,382 140,872 146,131

Post and delivery 100,293 96,076 59,622

Subtotal 377,651 396,596 315,186

Meetings and Conferences

Affiliation fees 257,795 236,633 200,444

Vocational groups 4,116 12,745 8,109

Divisional meetings 108,368 103,335 115,212

Union/divisional conferences 98,067 85,263 70,639

ICTU meetings/conferences 33,224 14,107 31,450

Other meetings/conferences 72,083 93,738 115,265

International meetings/conferences 3,431 8,352 38,723

Recruitment and organisation 15,044 16,584 4,131

Subtotal 592,127 570,757 583,973

Promotion

ICTU recruitment strategy 295,799 - -

Miscellaneous public relations 61,842 48,660 29,707

Donations 8,000 8,000 16,767

Community development grants 57,800 42,202 40,000

Membership cards and badges 182 6,224 -

Annual report 15,736 34,697 36,592

'Work & Life'/IMPACT News 192,490 231,012 211,851

Books and journals 26,256 31,635 27,816

CEC approved projects 51,072 50,958 50,000

Publication: '21 years of social partnership' -16 -724 46,908

Public service pay campaign 502,895 506 43,147

Union history 20,000 - -

Subtotal 1,232,056 453,170 502,788

Membership services 2009 2008 2007

€ € €

Benevolent grants 2,750 3,000 1,750

Scholarship 25,383 15,050 18,450

Members' training 63,017 64,276 -2,934

Refund of subscriptions 14,764 7,079 12,754

Death in service scheme 328 - -

Legal assistance 5,822 - -

Rail vouchers - -13 160

Subtotal 112,064 89,392 30,180

Fees

Legal fees 133,748 -47,783 54,893

Audit, accountancy and taxation fees 37,421 27,994 28,311

Consultancy fees - - 14,923

Bank charges 12,299 12,082 9,988

Subtotal 183,468 -7,707 108,115

Total 10,576,340 9,503,472 8,726,314



PRODUCED BYIMPACT Communications Unit, Nerney’s Court, Dublin 1. Phone 01-817-1500. E-mail [email protected]

DESIGNED BYN. O’Brien Design and Print Management Ltd, c/o Kempis, Jamestown Business Park,

Jamestown Road, Finglas, Dublin 11. Phone 01-864-1920 . E-mail [email protected]

PHOTOGRAPHYConor Healy (pages 2, 4, 13, 21, 22, 30, 36, 44)

Dylan Vaughan (page 35)Sunday Tribune (page 6)

Micheal Crean (pages 14, 40)Moya Nolan (page 26)

DUBLINNerney’s Court, Dublin 1.

Phone: 01-817-1500 Fax: 01-817-1501/2/3. Email: [email protected]

CORKFather Matthew Quay, Cork.

Phone: 021-425-5210 Fax: 021-494-4682. Email: [email protected]

GALWAYUnit 23, Sean Mulvoy Business Park, Sean Mulvoy Road, Galway.


SLIGO51 John Street, Sligo.


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