Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

The detail will be dealt with by the Minister for Finance. The general principle is that all fixed term contracts must be dealt with on the basis of the moratorium when they come up for renewal. Where basic services must be provided it is a matter for management to decide how that will be done. Within many organisations greater efficiency and effectiveness in the provision of front line services and their maintenance at their current level can be achieved by simply not having staff complements dealing with all types of ancillary services. It might be more effective to organise matters otherwise. That system is in place in many areas of the public service and is an integral part of how we manage service on fixed budgets.

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