Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I advised during the Committee Stage debate when we had a long discussion about this that the Bill will not provide power to the PAS in any circumstances to establish a system under which employees may be compulsorily moved. The Bill is designed to facilitate definitive voluntary cross-sectoral moves. It will not and cannot in itself force such reassignments. If cross-sectoral moves are agreed with specific individuals in the future, including outside the terms of specific collective agreements or post-Haddington Road the Bill will also facilitate those providing they are not in conflict with the Minister's overall policy on redeployment and mobility.

I agree that if people are unhappy with the proposal to move to another employment it is important that they are able to appeal that. I do not agree that it is necessary or appropriate to have a statutory appeal power. The Croke Park agreement, as I explained to the Deputy on Committee Stage, provides an appeal system in respect of individuals being redeployed within health, education and local authority sectors and such an appeal system has been in operation satisfactorily for the duration of that agreement. The Haddington Road agreement extends this by providing that appeals on cross-sectoral redeployment and redeployments within the Civil Service will be considered by an agreed adjudicator.

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