Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)

The Minister for Finance has responsibility for public service staffing. Therefore, this is not a matter for me. The Government would have to approve a redundancy scheme and the terms thereof. The intention is that the Minister for Finance will bring a joint memorandum to the Government in regard to the health service.

In the past three years, we have increased the number of nurses by 25% and reduced the number of general support staff by almost 9%. I do not know what the level of interest would be in a voluntary redundancy scheme. Much would depend on the terms, the age of prospective applicants and so on. Obviously, from a strategic point of view, we are anxious to retain the best people. A voluntary redundancy scheme must be appropriately managed so that we do not end up, as has happened before, letting go vital staff who subsequently have to be replaced. The intention is that there will be no replacement of those staff who avail of voluntary redundancy. Instead there will be redeployment of remaining staff. Redeployment is a critical aspect of any voluntary redundancy scheme.

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