Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

As the Deputy is aware, the public services committee of Congress ratified the public service agreement at its meeting of 15 June last. That agreement provides a comprehensive agenda for public service transformation. It provides a framework for public service pay determination over the period to 2014. It provides a framework for the detailed discussions that will now take place at local level. The health service redeployment protocol, which is set out in Chapter 6 of the agreement, governs the changes that are now put in place. The agreement also provides for competence reskilling, education and training and for an appeal process. There are four paragraphs relating to essential redeployment in the agreement. The implementation of the redeployment protocol will be monitored by a steering committee comprising three management and three trade union nominees. The committee may recommend, through the national joint council, amendments or enhancements to the scheme, including opportunities for reskilling and retraining based on experience gained through its operation. The Deputy has suggested that we should renegotiate this section of the agreement to accommodate a particular union's view on the matter. While I respect the views of unions on these matters, the public service committee of Congress has, through its balloting procedures, come up with a majority that is in favour of implementing the agreement. We should now implement the agreement, work with everybody with the maximum of goodwill to get the changes in the place on the ground and ensure that what has been agreed is implemented.

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