Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The amendment simply seeks to replace "or" with "and". For consistency, I spoke with the House about the approach to the Haddington Road proposals.

I have considered amendment No. 3 since we debated it here on Committee Stage. I was concerned that the provision, as drafted, could be interpreted as enabling PAS to decide, in a given case, to have regard to a collective agreement to the exclusion of the Minister's broader policy on mobility and redeployment within the public service. The amendment seeks to remove "or" and replace it with "and". That means PAS must now have regard to any sectoral agreement that might exist and the Minister's policy on redeployment.