Ref: BS 042/08
5th August, 2008
Decentralisation - REPORT OF MEETING HELD ON 30th July 2008
Dear Branch Secretary,
I enclose a report of the most recent meeting of the Decentralisation sub-committee of the General Council. Please distribute this report to interested members.
As usual, the report will be posted on the Union web-site - www.pseu.ie - in the coming days.
Issues discussed at this meeting include:
1. Public Spending Measures - Acquisition of Accommodation
2. Dublin CAF
3. Contracts of Indefinite Duration
4. Application of 52 Week Rule
5. Establishment of Regional Promotion Competitions
6. Accommodation
7. Central Transfer List
Yours sincerely,
Paul Caffrey
Assistant General Secretary
To: EC Members; All Branch Secs in CS, SOC
MEETING OF THE DECENTRALISATION SUB-COMMITTEE OF
General Council HELD ON 30th July, 2008
Present:
Official Side: B. Duffy (Chair), A. Stapleton, K. Sheedy, B. Fee, M. Donnellan,
M McLoughlin, J Byrne.
Staff Side: J. Byrne (Sec), C Rohan (AHCPS), B Carty (IMPACT), P Caffrey (PSEU),
E. Ronayne (CPSU).
1. Public Spending Measures - Acquisition of Accommodation
On the 8th July, the Government Announcement of Public Spending Measures contained following statement on Decentralisation:
“It has also been decided by Government, in the light of the current Exchequer position, that further expenditure for the acquisition of accommodation for decentralisation will await detailed consideration of reports from the Decentralisation Implementation Group.”
The Official Side stated that sub-Group of Secretaries General had yet to finalise their deliberations and the Official Side added that they will not be a position clarify the issue regarding the acquisition of accommodation until September 2008.
2. Dublin CAF – ICT Staff Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
At a previous meeting the Official Side presented proposals to the Staff Side in relation to Staff in Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, these proposals are being considered by the Staff Side.
3. Contracts of Indefinite Duration
Discussions are continuing on this issue.
4. Application of 52 Week Rule
The PSEU Representative asked for clarification on the application of the 52 Week Rule in the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government. The Official Side stated that they had contacted the Department in question and will inform the Staff Side of the outcome in due course.
5. Establishment of Regional Promotion Competitions
The Official Side stated that discussions will take place with the PAS and the Staff Side before next interdepartmental competitions are advertised.
6. Accommodation
The Official Side stated that the Equality Authority will maintain a small presence in Dublin post decentralisation to Roscrea.
7. Central Transfer List
As promised at a previous meeting, the Official Side presented proposals to the Staff Side on a Central Transfer List. These proposals can found in Appendix 1 of this document.
P. Caffrey,
Assistant General Secretary
Appendix 1.
Discussion Document
Transfers in the post-decentralised civil service
Background
One of the elements of the paper ‘Review of Promotion Policy in the context of the Decentralisation Programme’ as presented to the General Council Sub-Committee on Decentralisation at its meeting on 30 January 2008 was that, in conjunction with the proposed regional promotion system and to further facilitate mobility, it is proposed to establish a standardised system for the administration of transfers in the post-decentralised civil service.
This paper sets out, under broad headings, outline proposals in this regard.
Central Transfers Facility (CTF)
The new transfer system, the Central Transfers Facility (CTF), will replace all transfer mechanisms currently in operation. It is envisaged that CTF will cover all grades up to Principal. The arrangements encompassed by the Central Transfer Lists, including Priority Transfers, and Head-for-Head Transfers will no longer apply.
It is proposed that the CTF system will be administered centrally and will be a web-based application system along the lines of CAF.
It is envisaged that the new system will come into operation for existing regional locations. Arrangements for timely, sequential transition from Central Transfer List and to CTF are to be discussed.
Timing issues
CTF will replace CAF and officers who had registered on CAF but who had not received offers to transfer under the Decentralisation Programme may have their applications transposed onto CTF. Arrangements will have to be worked out on the integration of staff currently on Central Transfer Lists and on the CAF with the new Central Transfer Facility.
When a Department/Office has fulfilled its initial obligations under the Decentralisation Programme i.e. when relocation of the offices has taken place, with the full compliment of staff assigned, CTF will replace all existing transfer mechanisms for posts in that Department/Office.
Post-decentralisation, officers who wish to transfer to specific locations must apply to register on the central system.
Posts fillable by transfer
It is proposed to establish an agreed proportion of posts to be filled by way of transfer.
It will be necessary to incorporate this proportion, which will need to take account of the level of demand for particular locations, into the sequences for the filling of posts.
Mobility in relation to posts in Dublin
It is not proposed to introduce a system of transfers for posts to Dublin until sufficient progress has been made in placing staff under the Dublin Arrangements.