Michael D'Arcy (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 194: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance his views on whether, conditions imposed by his Department in sanctions approving the recruitment of officers for statutory agencies or commissions operating under the aegis of other Departments should be rigidly adhered to and particularly so as the sanctions underpin the statutory Ministerial consent; if his attention has been drawn to the breach of such sanction in the case of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission notified to the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform recently following a response to a Freedom of Information request; the action he proposes to take to make the GSOC accountable for its actions and to comply with sanction approvals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12058/08]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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The filling of sanctioned vacancies within independent agencies is essentially a matter for those agencies — while sanction is required in order to fill posts, it is not a function of the Minister for Finance to require an organisation with statutory independence to ensure that all of its sanctioned posts are filled to the maximum extent of the authorised level at all times. Management has discretion to fill sanctioned posts according to its business needs so as to ensure that such decisions reflect the most up to date business requirements. In this instance, there is nothing to indicate that the GSOC have breached any element of the relevant sanction.

Michael D'Arcy (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 195: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance his views, having regard to the centrally agreed arrangements for the Dublin Central Applications Facility and specifically the transfer schedule for assignment of volunteers which obliged personnel officers to work to ensure that transfers take place within four weeks of the officer being informed by the Public Appointments Service that the transfer is to take place and the exceptional further extension for a maximum of another four weeks by agreement, on whether these arrangements should be complied with in full and in a timely manner to progress Government decentralisation policy and in the event of non-compliance specifically in the case of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission relating to the position of head of corporate affairs, the action he will to take to ensure full compliance and accountability; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12060/08]

Michael D'Arcy (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 196: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance if a practice to interview Public Appointments Service applicants or assignees under the Dublin central applications facility arrangements for positions in the GSOC was the subject of agreement with his Department; if his Department has made it clear to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission that it does not have a veto on appointments under the Dublin CAF arrangements; his views on whether any office, including the GSOC, should comply in full with the procedures laid down by the Dublin CAF arrangements as agreed centrally with the unions and not seek to frustrate Government policy on decentralisation on spurious grounds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12068/08]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 195 and 196 together.

Across the public service, recruitment and promotion practices generally are being managed in a way which facilitates the achievement of the Decentralisation Programme in an efficient manner. The primary mechanism for placing Civil Servants whose posts are due to decentralise but who themselves wish to remain in Dublin is by way of bilateral transfer. As staff who have applied to decentralise continue to be transferred into decentralising organisations, the posts they vacate become available to those wishing to remain in Dublin.

The objective of the Dublin Arrangements is to provide to the Public Appointments Service (PAS) details of staff who wish to remain in Dublin at each grade level so that a proportion of vacancies arising in Dublin based posts may be filled by those staff. The Arrangements seek to balance the need to facilitate the effective achievement of the decentralisation programme with the business needs of departments and offices and the aspirations of staff to be placed in appropriate posts in Dublin. To achieve this, they allow for prioritisation at certain times of staff in organisations who have an immediate need to be placed in Dublin posts due to the timing of the relocation of their current department or office. While the aim is to ensure that transfers take place within 4-8 weeks, in many instances I understand that the actual transfer date is the subject of bilateral discussion and agreement between the organisations involved.

Under the Dublin Arrangements, the PAS circulates as much detail as possible in relation to the post to be filled to persons in the appropriate grades in the organisations participating in the arrangements at that time. Further information is of course made available to individual applicants by the receiving organisation as required. Once the closing date for expressions of interest in the post has passed, the post due to be filled is offered by the PAS to the most senior volunteer. Consequently, the issue of a potential receiving Department or Office having a veto over an applicant does not arise.

My understanding from the Office of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) and the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform is that the GSOC wished to review all aspects of organisational staffing both current and prospective, to cater for the long-term needs and structure of the office. In that context, following the advertisement of the post to Dublin based staff, that office advised my Department that the filling of the post of Head of Corporate Services was postponed pending a review of the posts at senior level in the GSOC. I understand that this review is ongoing.

It is intended that the Dublin Arrangements will continue over the full transition phase of the Programme and I can confirm that my department is monitoring them in co-operation with Departments and the relevant unions to ensure that they are operating efficiently.