Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

Thank you, Deputy. Arising out of the specific issue raised by the Deputy, the action plan contains an action that is to take place by the end of the year to deliver a more effective allocation of work assignments, which will in turn lead to an improved use of available staff resources. The target is to have the work of the project team completed by the end of this year. On the wider point, as the Deputy is aware, the Croke Park agreement provides the industrial relations framework to enable the Government, through redeployment, to consider a range of issues in which there are critical service pressures, to identify areas in which there is an underutilisation of staff and to make arrangements for redeployment in that regard as well.

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