Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am not suggesting that is the case. I am setting out the backdrop against which this sort of mobility should be provided for in statute rather than on an ad hoc basis. It made sense to bring community welfare officers into the Department of Social Protection and to restructure FÁS as Intreo while redeploying staff. While the redeployment was agreed without resistance regarding terms and conditions and the timing of movement, there was no statutory basis for doing it. The provision in the Bill is about putting redeployment on a statutory footing.

We must be practical in what we do. We do not want to provide in statute for requirements that are wholly impractical, such as having to ask all 300,000 public servants if they have the skills required to fill a vacancy in the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government in Wexford. It is better to operate on a volunteer basis as far as is practical, while not being so prescriptive in the legislation as to make the Bill unworkable for the Public Appointments Service.