Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I am not aware that my Department has made any applications for exception. These are matters best referred to the Minister for Finance.

In order to achieve significant savings and costs in providing public services in the coming years there is a pressing need for greater flexibility and efficiencies in the allocation of resources. It is intended that staff will be available to be reassigned to areas of greater priority, including where there are sudden surges of activity that cannot be met adequately by existing staff of the Departments or bodies concerned. The decision on moratorium also applies to temporary appointments on a fixed-term basis and is renewable in respect of such contracts.

Regarding the question of measures to be taken to monitor compliance, the Department of Finance will be contacting Departments and offices about more detailed arrangements for confirming compliance with the requirements of the moratorium. If necessary, suitable measures can be incorporated in the administrative budget agreements. Regarding the wider public service, the onus is on each Department to monitor implementation in bodies under its aegis. As an initial step, each Department is required to communicate the terms of the moratorium immediately to all relevant bodies under its aegis and to send a copy of that communication to the Department of Finance.

The Government is conscious of the need to protect certain services and that is why it has provided for a degree of flexibility, especially in the health and education sectors. The focus of the provision for redeployment is to allow resources to be moved from activities that are no longer priority to areas of greater need.

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