Relocation may cost 'millions' in claims

The State may be facing claims amounting to tens of millions of euro from public servants who hold job-specific contracts of employment, an Oireachtas committee heard yesterday.

The Association of Chief Executives of State Agencies (ACESA) told the Joint Committee on Finance and the Public Service that more than 2,000 public servants in 19 State agencies may have a case for constructive dismissal, should their employers relocate.

While ACESA did not put a price on the potential result of the Government's decentralisation programme, Independent Senator Joe O'Toole told the committee that each award could be as much as €200,000.

"Just five of them would be a million, 50 would be ten million, it does not take long for the figures to add up," he warned.

The warning was also echoed by Mr Owen Reidy, SIPTU spokesman on decentralisation, who told The Irish Times after the meeting that just 46 of the 2,249 public servants involved had indicated they would follow their jobs in a move.

Mr Reidy said fears of legal actions were "spot on" and he quoted from the 1967 Redundancy Payments Act which he said specifically referred to the "closure or relocation" of an employer.

Addressing the committee yesterday the chairwoman of ACESA, Ms Ruth Barrington, said it was not for the association to comment on Government policy.

The concern was for the ability of about 60 State agencies, including the 19 directly affected, to carry out their roles, if significant numbers of staff had to be replaced at one time.

Ms Barrington told the committee that many public servants had been recruited for specific jobs and held detailed contracts, many of which even specified the location of the work.

In this way, public servants differ from the majority of civil servants who may be redeployed with relative ease.

Ms Barrington pointed out that ACESA had no indication of how many public servants would resist decentralisation.

Senator O'Toole told the Oireachtas committee that specialised public servants could earn upwards of €70,000 to €100,000 per year.

He said awards under employment legislation were frequently in the order of two years salary and costs.

In addition to the 19 State agencies directly involved, a further 11 organisations in the health sector are affected by relocation proposals in the Government's health-reform programme.

Ms Barrington called for ACESA to be represented at negotiations held by the decentralisation implementation committee.

Ms Barrington also said it was crucial that the agencies retain the ability to recruit on the open market.

ACESA has produced a ten-point list of recommendations dealing with the needs of State agencies if they are to be able to carry out their duties, post decentralisation.

These included staff options on continuing redeployment; facilities for staff to train their replacements; and access to physical facilities including broadband communications in the chosen locations.

Ms Barrington said the "needs of agencies in relation to electronic communication, access to other communications infrastructure, public transport and air access, which are vital to the performance of the agencies, should receive the same consideration as the provision of accommodation.

"For some agencies, broadband connectivity is essential and should be in place before relocation takes place," Ms Barrington said.