Brendan Ryan (Labour)

Senator Mooney and I should not shout at each other about electoral success. Neither of us is in a position to speak on the matter and we should not pursue it any further.

The Minister of State stated that people who do not want to move will be offered alternative public service jobs in Dublin. A significant number of the agencies in question, as distinct from the Civil Service, are specialised. They include, for example, the Equality Authority, the Arts Council and similar bodies. According to the Minister of State, employees of these agencies who do not wish to move will be offered alternative public service jobs in Dublin. What will staff of Bord Bia, the Arts Council, An Bord Glas, Bord Iascaigh Mara and other specialist agencies do if they do not want to move? Will specialist public servants with specialist technical knowledge fill jobs in the manner in which certain staff in the Land Commission did for years following its abolition because nobody could think of anything for them to do?

The thinking behind the proposal makes little sense, is fundamentally illogical and betrays the absence of enthusiasm by the Department of Finance, given that it has not yet put a cost on the plans.