Anger and distress over the Government's decentralisation programme has been expressed by specialist staff in a variety of State organisations.
Employees of the Arts Council, the National Roads Authority, Bord Iascaigh Mhara, Dúchas, the Prison Service and the Equality Authority were among those who outlined their concerns at a public meeting in Dublin.
Civil servants from several government Departments also expressed opposition to the programme.
Most speakers said they held specific qualifications and did not have the option of transferring to suitable jobs in Dublin if their positions were decentralised.
Mr Peter Walsh, an engineer with the National Roads Authority, which is to be moved to Ballinasloe, Co Galway, said he wanted to keep his job. "I don't want to give it away. I don't want to train anybody else to do it," he said.
Mr Walsh said he wished to remain in the public sector and did not want to work for companies driven by profit. "I want to work for the betterment of society in general."
About 100 people attended the meeting, at Wynne's Hotel, which was organised by the architectural, engineering and heritage services branch of Impact.
Mr Kevin Moran, an education specialist with the Irish Prison Service, said he and his colleagues were being asked to transfer to Longford.
"We need to emphasise the specialist nature of our jobs. The Government talks as if all our jobs are interchangeable, but they are not interchangeable," he said.
Ms Ann Timoney, an employee of the Equality Authority, said she found "entirely insulting" the suggestion that decentralisation was set to provide a "bonanza in the housing stakes" for local communities.
The authority is to be transferred to Roscrea, Co Tipperary.
An OPW employee, Mr Colm Murray, said any campaign against decentralisation should focus on the effect it would have on families.
His job was to be transferred to Kanturk, Co Cork. "I'm supposed to go there with my family. I'm looking for a crèche, but there's no crèche there. These are really big issues," he said.
Ms Heather King, an archaeologist who said her job was to look after national monuments in the west of Ireland, said the Government's programme would have a "huge impact" on services.
With "tongue in cheek", she suggested an alternative: that the national monuments be relocated to Waterford, the home city of the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Mr Cullen.
There were two dissenting voices at the meeting. Mr Conor Corbett, an employee of the Department of the Environment, said it was "unbecoming" of civil servants to oppose a Government decision.
The vast majority of those present disagreed, however, and the meeting concluded with a decision to maintain the campaign against the programme.
