John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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456. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his plans to introduce a mobility scheme and opportunities in specialist roles such as ICT at clerical officer or executive officer level; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39179/21]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The establishment of the Civil Service Mobility scheme fulfils one of the requirements of both Action 15 of the Civil Service Renewal Plan which aims to ‘Expand career and mobility opportunities for staff across geographic, organisational and sectoral boundaries’, and Action 14 of the People Strategy for the Civil Service which calls for the further expansion of a coherent mobility policy to facilitate staff development.

Mobility facilitates the movement of diverse skills and experience across organisations while also providing development opportunities for those who move through the scheme.

Following the recent launch of Phase 2A - List-based Mobility for HEOs and AOs, Phase 2B which facilities advertisement-based Mobility for positions which require qualifications or more specialist expertise in the following areas for HEOs and AOs will go live on July 16 2021,

1. ICT

2. HR/IR

3. Auditor/Investigator

4. Legal/Policy/Research

5. IGEES

6. Business/Finance

7. Finance (Payroll/Pensions)

These specialist categories were agreed with the Unions, and recognised the requirement and demand across the Civil Service for specialist skill sets in the middle management grades of HEO & AO. Initially, HEO and AO grades were due to be generalist only for Mobility.

Mobility initiatives are regularly reviewed for their effectiveness with a view to continually improving meeting business needs. We have built in a 2 year review for the HEO/AO specialist mobility scheme. For the CO and EO Scheme, we will be engaging with departments by the end of 2021 as part of review of that scheme.

However , it is also important to note that a new Secondment Policy for the Civil Service is being implemented. This policy will be used to support the Civil Service Mobility scheme,and fill time-bound positions concurrent with a strategic project or placement at all levels that require specialist knowledge and skill sets, including ICT. This policy has been developed in collaboration with Local HR departments and Unions.