John Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the Minister of State is only relaying the information he has been given. He made comments in respect of the operation of the pilot voluntary redeployment scheme, which is fantastic for counties Longford, Westmeath, Laois and Offaly, but what about every other county in the country? There are teachers in those areas who want to get closer to home and if there is a matching teacher in another location, it does not make sense for a redeployment not to be facilitated. A teacher should be able to move from one location to another while retaining his or her permanence and without risking job security, considering all of the obligations a teacher may have. We cannot recommend to an individual that he or she take such a risk. The scheme only applies to surplus staff.

The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, responded to my colleague, Senator Seán Kyne, in the Chamber last year on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Foley. She said that "... the only way to reach a solution to an issue is through positive engagement around the table". I could not agree more, but that has not happened. I am suggesting dialogue between the Department of Education, the ETBs and the unions to come up with an acceptable scheme that makes sense to facilitate teachers who wish to move from one location to another while retaining their permanence.Anything less would just be tinkering around the edges. It makes sense and it needs to happen soon.