Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This is a very important part of the debate. The Minister did not understate the political pressures that existed and still exist. However, there is a recognition that, as I said last night, we need a strong city and a strong county. The transfer of staff is a mammoth task and a lot of work has been done on it. The scale of this boundary extension is unprecedented. I hope that, as part of the process, there will be real engagement between the city and county in the transferring of staff. It is important that the transfer of personnel is done in a smooth and seamless way. We need to ensure there is buy-in to the shared process.

I commend the city and council staff, the executives, the directors of services and the managers on the professional way they went about their business after the political decision. Members of the city council were happy but members of the county council were deeply unhappy. It is important that there is engagement in the process of the transfer of staff.