Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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287. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the grounds on which a staff transfer as part of existing mobility initiatives within the Civil Service may be refused; the grounds and-or circumstances on which a request to transfer may be supported and-or augmented; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46173/17]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the current mechanism for transfers of Clerical Officer and (former) Staff Officer grades is arranged in accordance with formal procedures, which were agreed with the Staff Side at General Council under the Conciliation and Arbitration Scheme for the Civil Service. Agreements were reached for Clerical Officers in 1978 and Staff Officers in 2001.

Also interdepartmental transfers between other grades in the Civil Service can be arranged on an informal head-to-head basis. Such transfers are arranged between the officers seeking to move and the relevant Personnel Units and require the agreement of both Personnel Officers.

These current schemes are operated by Departments/Offices and my Department has no involvement in how they operate.

You will also be aware that Civil Service Mobility is one of a number of arrangements to be put in place to fulfil the requirements of Action 15 of the Civil Service Renewal Plan which calls to ‘Expand career and mobility opportunities for staff across geographic, organisational and sectoral boundaries’.

Senior level mobility, under the Senior Public Service (SPS) Mobility Protocol, came into effect in 2012.  All vacancies at Assistant Secretary level in Government Departments and Offices must be considered as to their suitability for filling through mobility in the first instance. This process is overseen by the mobility subgroup of the SPS Management Committee, chaired by the Secretary General of my department.

A Principal Officer inter-departmental mobility programme was introduced in late 2015 to provide a flexible system of managed mobility at PO level. It has been agreed by the Civil Service Management Board that at least 1 in every 6 vacancies that arises at Principal Officer level within a Department/Office will be advertised under the Principal Officer mobility protocol.

A centralised Civil Service Mobility scheme is currently under development on a phased basis:

- Phase 1A will be for the general Civil Service grades of Clerical Officer and Executive Officer for mobility between zones (all zones) and within zones (excluding Zone 46 – Dublin). This phase will launch very soon.

- Phase 1B will be for the general Civil Service grades of Clerical Officer and Executive Officer for mobility within the zone of Dublin. Anticipated launch mid-2018.

- Phase 2 will be for the general Civil Service grades of HEO, AO and AP. Anticipated launch end-2018.

Phase 1A of the scheme will subsume the current transfer mechanisms for the grades of Clerical Officer and Executive Officer.

Under this scheme an applicant will be automatically refused mobility opportunities if he or she has:

1. not yet successfully completed their probation period;

2. less than 2 years’ service in the current grade and organisation and geographical location;

3. a PMDS rating of ‘Unsatisfactory’ for the previous year;

4. sick leave of more than 56 days or 25 instances in the previous rolling four-year period (pro-rated);

5. a Performance Improvement Plan process in place;

6. an ongoing formal investigation under the Disciplinary Code which may lead to disciplinary action; and/or

7. an open disciplinary process in place.