Only 46 of 2,300 State agency workers agree to decentralisation

ONLY 46 of the 2,300 employees in State agencies whose jobs are being decentralised have agreed to follow their own jobs down the country.

That detail emerged as senior officials from nine unions representing public servants told an Oireachtas committee yesterday that there were varying degrees of opposition among their members to the controversial transfer of 10,300 public servants from Dublin, as the plan is currently conceived.

The officials expressed broad concerns about the lack of a business plan underpinning outgoing Finance Minister Charlie McCreevy’s proposals, the lack of consultation with unions, and the career implications for those who wish to remain in Dublin.