Áine Collins (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I may not be that long. A recruitment ban on public service has been in place for some time. The cost of running the public service was one of the many issues identified by the troika as an area that must be tackled. For years, there was anecdotal evidence of surplus staff in certain Departments and shortages in others. This situation developed over the years as functions and responsibilities were transferred from one Department to another without corresponding mobility of staff. A key objective of this legislation is to ensure that the right staff are in the right place at the right time. Cross-sectoral mobility is intended to support this objective and the passage of this Bill is required to facilitate definitive cross-sectoral transfers. The Croke Park agreement provided, for the first time, a basis for movement within the Civil Service, the health service and the local authority and educational sectors. This was crucial to allow redeployment between the public service and non-commercial semi-State bodies. The Haddington Road agreement, together with the Croke Park agreement, played a key role in the reassignment of, to date, more than 10,000 staff. This flexibility is essential to ensure the best use of staff resources and to protect front-line services.

Currently, definitive redeployment from one sector of the public service to another is not legally possible. Any progress made up to now has been made possible only by secondment arrangements. This Bill will provide certainty of assignment both for those on secondment and those who will move in the future. It will also provide certainty for the sending and receiving organisations. In accepting the Croke Park and Haddington Road agreements, the public service has stepped up to the mark and recognised that antiquated rules that defied common sense were no longer acceptable.

As a consequence of the agreements the Government has agreed that compulsory redundancy will not apply to public servants where there is continued agreement of flexibility and redeployment. Other important provisions contained in the Bill include section 57, which provides that when a person is designated by the PAS for redeployment he or she shall be appointed to that new position; section 57C which provides that redeployment will be made on no less favourable conditions of basic pay and provisions; and section 57E which sets out details of those who are precluded from redeployment by the PAS. These include holders of political, judicial and constitutional posts, presidential and Government appointees, special advisors, members of the Permanent Defence Forces, officers of the Houses of the Oireachtas and those employed by the Central Bank and the NTMA. This section also provides that the Minister may, by order, add further bodies to this list.

This is a short technical Bill but it adds important clarity to what has been achieved to date in the Croke Park and Haddington Road agreements. It recognises there has been a sea-change in public service administration and clearly states that the Government must deploy its resources to best serve the community. There is a clear recognition that the public service as a whole must accept that its first obligation is service to the general public in whatever role is necessary at any particular time. The significance of this change should not be underestimated. It became clear during the Presidential election what great work the public service does as we saw what was achieved during that time. I commend the Minister for his initiative in introducing this Bill. Although it is a short technical Bill it is a very important one and I commend it to the House.

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