Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am taken by the Deputy's series of questions and his interest in having detail. He will find that everything we do will be spelled out in detail.

To be clear, there is no scheme at present. I indicated after a Government meeting, because we were asked what was discussed at Government which is a normal occurrence after such a meeting, that I had brought a proposal simply to request every line Minister to look, in the context of all of the agencies and Departments under their purview, to see if there are surplus staff. As Deputy Sean Fleming will be aware, we spoke about areas in the past where there were too many staff.

There are areas that are under pressure for staff and that is why the architecture of the Croke Park agreement in so important. Seamlessly and without fuss, we have moved thousands of staff across the public service under the Croke Park agreement. It is one of the unsung achievements of the Croke Park agreement. The funny aspect of it, as I have stated previously, is that if one achieves something - for example, getting the new deal on sick pay - without a row, it is taken as if it is nothing. If one achieves the same thing with a major row, it is regarded as a significant achievement.

I am awaiting reports from all my colleagues on the staff they think are surplus. A number of them have come back already and there will be significant numbers in some areas. We will conduct the analysis in a profile of a number of years to see how many would be leaving in any event. We do not want to have staff who will go in any event in a year or two to be a cost. To those who are appropriate, we will be applying HSE terms.

On the point the Deputy makes on social protection, no line Department has got more additional supports than Social Protection to meet the significant increase in appeals and applications because the volume, variety and complexity of social welfare payments is such that this support is needed. Part of the reform agenda my colleague, the Minister for Social Protection, is pursuing is to rationalise that so that there is not the complexity and multiplicity of allowances.

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