James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister. Would the Minister not agree that had this initiative been undertaken when the HSE was formed, we could have saved more than €1 billion, at €200 million a year? I am delighted to hear that there is such interest in the scheme. However, I wonder why it took so long to introduce it. The Minister alluded to her Department in her reply. Clearly, there is a need for further reductions in her Department. The Taoiseach's Department organisational review programme found that some staff have little or nothing to do. Perhaps the Minister might explain to us why a redundancy package cannot be made available in a broader sense in her Department also.

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