To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many staff in her Department have had (a) five or more, (b) four, (c) three and (d) two periods of sick leave of less than five days in each of the last three years. [73006]

The number of sickness absence days is recorded by the Department; however while it is possible to extract information on absence spells from the data collection system currently in place, to do so would be a lengthy process, the cost of which would exceed the disproportionate cost threshold.

The Department is committed to managing sickness absence effectively and has actively adopted the recommendations of the recently published “Managing Sickness Absence in the Public Sector”. A number of initiatives, including a new managing attendance policy and supporting systems, have been implemented over the last six months. These include awareness sessions and training for individuals and managers, stress and managing attendance toolkits, and targeted support from HR and welfare teams.