James Bannon (Fine Gael)

They are being required to make a bid for their own jobs before a deadline or suffer the unknown consequences when their jobs are allocated to others. So much for voluntary relocation without duress. In a proposal worthy of farce, if not amusement, 200 staff from Bus Éireann's Dublin headquarters were scheduled to be moved to the proposed new headquarters in Mitchelstown as part of the Government's decentralisation programme. The only problem was that Bus Éireann has only 80 employees at its head office almost all of whom opposed the move. The 120 phantom staff have not been consulted. Voluntary decentralisation with no alternative plans for those who do not wish to relocate is tantamount to compulsion. What are the alternatives for civil servants who do not wish to move?

It would be more appropriate if the Progressive Democrats had tabled a motion on their lack of support for the European initiative. Not for the first time it has been shown that the party is anti-Europe. It has failed to put forward candidates in any constituency and it has let down the people who propose to support the European institutions.