Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

Reference was made to the Minister's efforts at job creation and the stimulus package. In particular, some points were made by Deputy Humphreys about housing. Does the Minister believe it is appropriate that Fingal County Council is currently offering staff an under-the-counter payment of €5,000 per employee to transfer out of the housing department? If we were to factor up that amount of money, it would be the equivalent of two full-time workers employed in the housing area.

My understanding was that under the Haddington Road agreement local authorities and organisations in the public sector were prevented from making any under-the-counter payments to secure deals on transfers. Will the Minister investigate this matter? The reality is that the local authority is proposing to use public funds to incentivise workers out of one area and to transfer to another area. Such moneys could have been used for job creation and at least two full-time jobs could have been created with the equivalent amount.

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