Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I am not aware of the individual case, but overall approximately 40% of the staff due for decentralisation have moved into their new positions. Of course there is a transition period where people must move and be retrained in new Departments or in new sections of Departments that are decentralised, but I understand that has gone fairly well.

The reason the group is trying to get an agreement between State agencies and ICTU relates to the Labour Court decision on the FÁS case that it is right an individual should have an opportunity to avail of a scheme by which he or she can move to another agency, as exists in the Civil Service. The difficulty is there is no such scheme because in the previous two rounds of decentralisation in the 1990s agencies were not moved. This is a chance to develop a new scheme.

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