The highest sickness absenteeism rates for local authority staff last year were recorded at Leitrim, Louth and South Dublin county councils.

Figures released by Minister for Housing Simon Coveney to Fianna Fáil TD Barry Cowen show Cavan County Council had the lowest absenteeism rate in the country. However, every local authority reported a higher level of sick leave than the average in the private sector.

South Dublin lost an average of 10.2 sick days per employee. The figure for Leitrim County Council was 12 days, and it was 11.84 days in Louth County Council.

The number of paid working days lost are broken down between medically certified and self-certified sickness. The highest rate of self-certified illness was in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council at 0.49 per cent.

The overall cost of sick leave in the public service was estimated at €317.9 million for 2015 which represents a saving of €104.4 million on 2013.

Sick pay

The Government introduced measures in 2013 to halve sick leave entitlements for the public sector. The changes allow workers three months’ full pay followed by three months’ half pay, followed by “temporary rehabilitation pay” for a maximum period of two years for certified sick leave.

The rate of absenteeism in the private sector stands at 2.35 per cent, lower than the figure for any local authority. The sick leave rate in South Dublin County Council is more than twice as high, at 5.67 per cent. Leitrim’s absence rate was 5.55 per cent, and Louth’s was 5.36 per cent.

Dublin City Council reported absenteeism at 4.54 per cent, Fingal County Council at 4.46 per cent and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown at 4.19 per cent.

Only five days per employee were lost in Cavan County Council, which had the lowest rate in the country at 2.62 per cent. Wicklow County Council had the second lowest rate, losing 7.15 days per employee (3.25 per cent).

Absenteeism rates attributed to illness in city and county councils have been on the rise for almost a decade. They have fallen significantly since 2013 but had risen until that point.

No targets

There was no figure included in the parliamentary reply on how much the absenteeism rates cost the Government. A Local Government Audit Service review in 2013 put the cost to the State at €64 million. The report found one-third of local authorities had set no target for cutting absenteeism and half had no attendance management plan.

The main causes of short-term-illness absence are flus, colds and respiratory tract infections. Long-term sickness factors are musculoskeletal disorders, post-surgery convalescence and acute medical conditions such as cancers.