Brian Cowen TD

The Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Brian Cowen TD, said today that the Programme for Government states that the Government will continue to move ahead with decentralisation and ensure that no public servant is obliged to accept decentralisation against their wishes and that promotion opportunities remain available.

The Labour Court have now issued a recommendation arising out of an industrial relations dispute that arose when State training body FAS put in place a policy of linking all promotions in Head Office to decentralisation.

The Tánaiste notes that in their recommendation the Labour Court pointed out that:

• FAS should not proceed with the introduction of the disputed contractual term at this time - e.g making promotions conditional on being prepared to relocate.

• the broader issue of decentralisation, as it affects state bodies, must be advanced in a way which takes account of the peculiar circumstances of those bodies and their staff. In particular the Court believes that the stated policy of effecting decentralisation on a voluntary basis could best be achieved if individuals who are unwilling to relocate are provided with realistic alternative career options, which take account of the proprietary rights and legitimate expectations which they have accrued in their current employments.

• the appropriate authorities should address the issues arising in this case in the broader context of decentralisation of the non-commercial state bodies overall. The focus of these discussions should be to identify appropriate career alternatives for those who exercise their right not to relocate from their current geographical base.

Cowen said that the Government accepts the recommendation of the Labour Court in this matter and considers that it reflects, amongst other things, the views and concerns that had previously been expressed by the Decentralisation Implementation Group.

In relation to the state bodies generally, the Tánaiste said that it is now a matter, in the first instance, for each body together with its parent Department, to manage their approach to implementation taking account of the implications of the Labour Court recommendation.

The T�naiste went on to say that it was always recognised that there were particular issues for the state bodies in progressing decentralisation at the same pace as the Civil Service because of the size and nature of the individual organisations. This point has been acknowledged by the Labour Court itself.

In relation to the Court's recommendation for the appropriate authorities to address the issues arising in broader context of decentralisation of the non-commercial state bodies overall, the Tánaiste has asked his department to engage with the unions representing staff in the State agencies generally to establish how progress can be made on this aspect of the Labour Court recommendation.

However, he said that it is important to recognise that the programme is progressing well in the Civil Service and based on understandings reached with the unions representing most civil servants. Cowen said evidence of this progress is provided by the fact that approximately 40% of all these civil service posts due to relocate are already filled. In the region of 2,000 of these posts will have moved to their new locations by the end of this year.