Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Local authorities have saved some €800 million in various ways over recent years. There has been a reduction of €300 million in the local government fund over the three-year period. We are targeting through a voluntary redundancy scheme. It will not be a broad-brush redundancy programme for the public service. There will be a targeted process and this will include local authorities at the higher levels. There is considerable workforce planning in local authorities at present to determine where a need arises. I suspect there will not be further redundancies among outdoor staff because more are needed to ensure there is a proper operational structure from local authorities. We will not be replacing some staff who are eligible for retirement in certain counties and we may have to share a fire officer between two counties, for example. This is the sort of thinking that is taking place to achieve the desired savings at the senior level of administration, rather than operational level.