Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We would be happy for some additional work from the National Shared Services Office, NSSO, to be carried out in Portlaoise and see if it would operate effectively. It would be terrible for the autonomy of local government if shared service work at local government level was to be taken over by the NSSO. Local authorities have taken the lead when it comes to shared services in areas such as waste management and the processing of permits and housing loan applications. I would not like to see this work subsumed into a national office under the supervision of a Minister and removed from the local authority structure. I would like to see a commitment given on that issue before the legislation is passed.

The principle and the idea behind the Bill are good. However, there are several matters of concern. We need to see a timetable for when it is proposed to break even. What will happen to the staff who will no longer be required? Will they be redeployed for good effort rather than reducing the headcount? Now that the work will all be captured in the one office, we want to put measures in place to ensure it will not be contracted out to the private sector at the expense of a good public service which has been doing the job up to now, but perhaps this might be a more efficient way. Will the Minister address these concerns on Committee Stage?

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