Latest news with #staffRetention
BreakingNews.ie
2 days ago
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
Department of Justice running €1.3 million over budget due to increase in asylum seekers
The Legal Aid Board told the Department of Justice it was running €1.3 million over budget as it dealt with a vast increase in cases involving asylum seekers. In a series of letters, the board's senior management said they were struggling with 'staff retention issues and low morale' due to their workload. Advertisement A letter in February said despite an increase in their allocation, they were running at least €1 million over budget which they said was a matter of 'significant concern.' In later correspondence, their chief executive told the department that they were headed for a 2025 pay bill of at least €33.5 million despite only having an allocation of €32.4 million for pay. Even with that, there were 34 vacancies in the Legal Aid Board and the board was warning of 'very serious impacts on service provision.' Chief executive Joan Crawford told the department in May that without a further increase in budget, they would be forced to immediately cease hiring staff. Advertisement She wrote: 'This will have a drastic impact on the operation of the Legal Aid Board and will render it impossible for [us] to provide the services that [we are] required to provide under statute.' Ms Crawford said some law centres would be left with no option but to close to new applications to deal with a backlog of cases. She said this could leave certain counties without access to a local law centre placing further pressures on nearby centres. Ms Crawford said cases would have to be prioritised meaning cases involving divorce, separation, child custody and guardianship being put on the long finger. Advertisement The Legal Aid Board also warned their budget constraints were having a knock-on effect on the courts and judges. The letter said: 'This is leading to delays in dealing with the conclusion of cases in already difficult situations and where the interests of children are involved. 'Often issues such as the necessity for a voice of the child report or welfare report are only identified on the appointment of a solicitor further causing delays for all involved.' Ms Crawford said the enormous pressure on staff was leading to staff departures and dissatisfaction from clients. Advertisement 'In all areas across the Board, the non-filling of vacancies will create well-being and morale issues, with staff feeling under pressure,' she wrote. 'As it stands, the Board is regularly losing staff with experience and expertise to other state bodies and government departments who can offer better conditions and better working environments with less pressure due to adequate resourcing.' A previous letter to the Department of Justice from June 2024 said one of the biggest drivers in demand was 'the exponential increase' in cases involving asylum seekers. It said the introduction of 'accelerated' processes for dealing with applications for international protection had complicated their work. The correspondence said: 'Early legal advice is key, and this is very challenging with the current service delivery model.' The board warned the Department of Justice that a shortfall in staff could lead as well to longer stays in international protection for applicants. 'Additionally, it could give rise to costly and lengthy litigation in the superior courts,' they said.
The Independent
04-07-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Council could become first to permanently adopt four-day working week
A council trialling a four-day working week has reported improvements across multiple services, according to independent research. Since the start of 2023, South Cambridgeshire District Council has been trialling a four-day working week where staff complete all of their work for full pay in an effort to hire and keep more staff. Twenty-one out of 24 council services have either improved or stayed the same since the trial began, according to the report which was compiled by university researchers. The council said the improved services ranged from repairs to the time it takes to update benefit and tax support claims. 'There is now more consistency through lower staff turnover and improved health and wellbeing,' the Leader of South Cambridgeshire District Council, Councillor Bridget Smith said. As well as filling staffing gaps, the trial saved nearly £400,000 a year by cutting down agency staffing, the Liberal Democrat-led council said. 'This is saving hundreds of thousands of pounds for Council taxpayers, not only because we've filled posts with our own staff, but by reducing our recruitment costs,' said South Cambridgeshire District Council's Lead Cabinet Member for Resources, Councillor John Williams. 'It's now for all District Councillors to weigh up all the evidence and decide how we should proceed.' The report findings come after the council had received two government notices over concerns of its trial of a four-day week. The most recent notice expired in November and was not renewed by the Labour government. However Conservative opposition councillors have raised concerns that residents remain unsatisfied 'I want to assure residents that we have heard you loud and clear and agree with the overwhelming 77 percent residents and 88 percent of businesses who did not support the 4 day week,' leader of the council's Conservative group Heather Williams posted on X. 'Conservatives will do all we can to STOP this madness.' The council's Scrutiny and Overview Committee will review the report on 14 July, with a final decision to be made by full council three days later.
Irish Times
25-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Defence Force pay levels rise in bid to retain staff amid ‘poaching'
Defence Forces starting salaries for recruits who have completed basic training have risen by 49 per cent to more than €41,000 as the Government battles to retain staff amid 'poaching', TDs and Senators have been told. The pay of graduate cadets starts at more than €50,000, the Oireachtas Committee on Defence and National Security heard on Tuesday. Jacqui McCrum, secretary general of the Department of Defence said the Government was battling to modernise the Defence Forces and retain staff against private commercial operators who 'poach' Defence Forces members 'with an open chequebook'. Ms McCrum told the Oireachtas committee that retention of staff was especially challenging in relation to those working in air traffic services, particularly air traffic controllers. READ MORE Ms McCrum said this particular risk was 'crystallised' earlier this year in relation to a private sector operator 'close on our doorstep, effectively, in Baldonell, which was Weston'. She said there was 'potential there for them to poach our own staff, and that did materialise and certainly job offers have been made, and that's the position in which we find ourselves now.' She said the problem of staff being poached 'came to a very acute level just in May this year.' Among the potential measures to retain staff was a commitment scheme, similar to that which is in place for the pilots in which candidate undertake to remain with the Defence Forces for a fixed period after training. That 'could be potentially extended to the air traffic controllers,' she said. Ms McCrum said salary changes were also being introduced for air traffic controllers: 'We are going from something where there's a pay band of about €58,000 to €126,000," she said. 'With the service commitment scheme it will change from €85,000 up to €140,000 and that is quite a significant jump. But there are terms and conditions that surround that and they're being worked through at the moment'. The committee was also told Budget 2025 provided a record allocation of €1.35 billion for the defence sector, including more than €130 million for capability development investment. Some €55 million of this relates to essential aircraft projects including strategic reach aircraft; a light utility helicopter project and the acquisition of C295 military transport aircraft. However, Independent Senator Gerard Craughwell said an internal military report commissioned as far back as 2021 warned of the impending 'crisis' in personnel and this became a reality in October 2024. He was critical it was only this year the measures were being considered. Lieutenant General Rossa Mulcahy said the 2021 report set out a series of recommendations of which a number of measures were adopted. 'However, despite extensive efforts, staffing challenges have persisted as a competitive commercial aviation market has targeted this highly specialised, highly trained stream within the Air Corps. 'While I wish to acknowledge the significant uplift in the remuneration package for the Defence Forces, in general over the last number of years, a disparity between the pay rates of highly specialised military personnel and their civilian equivalents remains. 'This disparity makes it extremely difficult to retain the services of such personnel, including trained air traffic services personnel. These are not excuses. This is the reality of the environment the Defence Forces and indeed the wider public sector are operating in. But be assured we continue to seek solutions to these challenges' he said.
ABC News
02-06-2025
- Health
- ABC News
Do we need menopause accredited workplaces?
In this edition The Conversation Hour we explore the impact of menopause on women in the workforce, and ask whether menopause accredited workplaces would be an effective means of retaining staff or further stigmatise women experiencing menopause. Also, in this edition, the State government's decision to axe the Office for Women in Sport and Recreation, has drawn criticism over the weekend with grass roots football players wearing red arm bands - we discuss the broader implications of the decision. Plus, as Vinnies launches and online boutique offering high end labels we look at how the role of op shops is changing.
