The Department of Justice and the Irish Prison Service (IPS) negotiated directly with a bishop rather than trade unions on the introduction of lay chaplains on inferior terms and conditions, a Civil Service arbitration board has been told.
The board, in a report finalised last December, but now published by the Oireachtas, found the negotiations on the pay of the lay pastor role by the IPS were conducted outside of the public-service pay deal that was then in place.
The board ruled that a two-tier system of payment between those appointed before 2015 and afterwards, and which came into effect a decade ago, should be ended and all personnel concerned should be on the same terms and conditions.
The case was brought to the board by the trade union Fórsa, which argued that for the IPS and Department of Justice “to negotiate new terms and conditions of chaplaincy pay with a bishop who has no standing under the Haddington Road Agreement [the public-sector pay accord then in place] was both bizarre and unwarranted”.
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“Fórsa states that there was no attempt by the Irish Prison Service to engage with the staff side in the Department of Justice on these pay matters at the time,” the report said.
The union argued that “although the Irish Prison Service sought to rebrand the chaplaincy grades as ‘lay pastors’, they failed to either seek to have a new statutory instrument issued to capture this change or to refer to the new title in any of the subsequent job advertisement circulars”.
A spokesman for Forsa told The Irish Times that the difference in pay between for those appointed before and after 2015 was about €18,000 per point on the salary scale or a difference of 30 per cent to 33 per cent.
The IPS told the arbitration board that it changed the system as previous arrangements for assigning chaplains – through direct nomination by a bishop and thereafter accepted by the Minister – were no longer suitable.
“It was also decided that the requirement for a member of the chaplaincy service to be qualified to conduct religious services, ie a member of the clergy, should cease. This was communicated to and subject to negotiation with the bishop who represented all of the church dioceses in relation to prison chaplaincy matters at that time.”
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Management told the arbitration board that in 2013, and following a full review, the position of prison chaplain had been evaluated.
“While there was no formal consultation with the unions regarding the chaplain position, engagement and negotiations with the bishop and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform took place.”
It said the rationale was that until 2013 chaplains were nominated by a bishop for appointment in the prison service.
Management said it was agreed following this process “that the position should be equivalent to that of community pastoral care worker, removing the prerequisite to be part of the clergy”.
