Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

We are trying to create a new type of public service. It is difficult to do so because there is a resistance to change. A great deal of work that used to be done at clerical officer level, for example, is no longer required because many people now do their own direct inputting. We are creating a different type of public service, which is much more in tune with the needs of a modern, 21st century economy. There have been no compulsory redundancies since we came into office. The Deputy is wrong when he speaks about a brain drain. The people who have gone were approaching retirement, by and large. They went to ensure they could retire at the pre-cut level of salary. There have been no compulsory redundancies. Nobody has been forced out. The specific point the Deputy made about teachers is valid. The Minister for Education and Skills has issued a directive on this matter. It was to be incorporated in law and I think it should be. It is a matter of practice on the ground. Retired teachers should not be recruited to fill substitution posts. Those posts should be filled from a panel of unemployed teachers. The Minister, Deputy Quinn, is determined to achieve that objective.

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