Annual Report 2009(PDF) - Road Safety Authority

Sports and Social Club
In 2009, the RSA Sports and Social club (a sub-committee of
Partnership) was very active in sports and social activities.
Budgetary Issues
Reports regarding the financing of the RSA were presented
to the Partnership committee at regular intervals.
The Partnership Process
The relevance of Partnership to the RSA and its impact on
the running of the organisation was regularly discussed.
Industrial Relations
The Human Resources Department works with Unions and
staff representatives to achieve good working relationships
and is committed to the promotion of a good Industrial
Relations environment through the Industrial Relation
Council (IRC). The IRC met twice in 2009 and had a number
of joint meetings with individual unions. The RSA also has a
high level of ongoing interaction with the staff
representatives at local levels.
Training and Development
The RSA seeks to:
• Be the best public body in Ireland;
• Continually reduce road deaths and serious injuries;
• Be the best employer and to offer the best value for
money;
• Be respected as a leader in its field, demonstrating
integrity, trust and credibility in all its operations.
A staff handbook has been finalised with the aim of
informing staff of the RSA ways of working. The handbook
sets out the expectations on each employee, as well as rules
and regulations.
Management training carried out during the year was
designed to achieve this, with a training unit on the RSA and
Public Administration added to the FETAC core Units. 26
people from administration and Driver Testing supervisors
undertook this training, which commenced in 2008. The
training was successfully completed in 2009.
Customer care training, business writing skills and other
training contributed to the RSA’s overall objectives.
Disability Act 2005, Part 5 Reporting
As of 31st December 2009, the number of people with
disabilities employed by the RSA amounted to 2.6% of its
staff.
A census, carried out in line with the National Disability
Authority (NDA) guidelines, indicated that the RSA fell just
short of the 3% requirement for employing people with
disabilities, as set out in Part 5 of the Disability Act 2005.
Subsequent actions included a review of practice,
procedures and compliance with the appropriate Code of
Practice (Code of Practice for the Employment of People with
aDisability in the Irish Civil Service).
Results indicated:
Total Employees 314
(head count)
Returned surveys 246
People with Disabilities 8
Percentage of RSA staff with a
2.6% of total
disability as described in census is: employees
Plain English Policy
The OECD’s International Adult Literacy Survey found that
one in four - approximately half a million -, Irish adults, aged
between 16-64, have problems with even the simplest
literacy tasks.
In response, the Road Safety Authority has introduced a
Plain English’ policy for all its public road safety information
leaflets and booklets.
The RSA consults with the National Adult Literacy Agency
(NALA) to secure the ‘Plain English’ stamp of approval on
such publications.
NALA only provides its logo for use in documents once it
approves that the language and layout are sufficiently clear
for the intended reader.
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