Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 8:

In page 9, to delete lines 9 to 14 and substitute the following:“(2) Save in accordance with a collective agreement negotiated with a recognised trade union or staff association and approved by the Minister with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, a person referred to in subsection (1) shall be subject to such terms and conditions of service, including terms and conditions relating to remuneration, as are not less favourable than the terms and conditions of service, including terms and conditions relating to remuneration, to which the person was subject immediately before the coming into operation of this section.”.

The purpose of the change contained in this amendment is to bring the provision relating to the transfer of staff directly into line with current policy and practice. This may be relevant to the question Deputy Ellis posed earlier. The amendment will ensure that staff will be subject to terms and conditions of service, including remuneration, as are not less favourable to those to which they will be subject immediately prior to the transfer. The provision will apply with the exception of any collective agreement negotiated between unions and management and approved by the Minister. The text of the amendment mirrors that used for this purpose in other recent enactments involving the transfer of staff under the Government's agency rationalisation plan. This approach reflects the recent protocol agreement between the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions in respect of the transfer of public servants across public bodies. The intention of this agreement is to ensure consistency of approach in the implementation of all mergers under the Government's wider agency rationalisation programme.

Amendment No. 9 is technical in nature and is designed to update the list of enactments under which the previous service of transferred staff shall be deemed reckonable. The aim is to ensure that there will be consistency with current policy and practice in other Departments and across other agencies.