Vol. 491 No. 6
153 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Finance his views on whether his Department and its predecessor, the Department of Public Service, have adequately operated the memorandum of understanding signed in 1984 regarding the exchange of civil servants between North and South in view of the fact that only nine southern and 13 United Kingdom civil servants have been exchanged in a period of 14 years since the agreement was signed. [12676/98]
The Memorandum of Understanding, to which the Deputy refers, relates to exchanges between the UK Civil Service and the Irish Civil Service. Under the terms of the memorandum, which was signed by representatives of Ireland and the UK on 19 October 1984, civil servants from Ireland may be seconded to the UK Civil Service for six months or more, with a reciprocal arrangement for civil servants from the UK to be seconded to the Irish Civil Service. It was envisaged that there would be a maximum of about three exchanges each way at any one time. Since the scheme began it has evolved over time as mutually agreed between the Irish Department of Finance, formerly by the Department of the Public Service, and the UK Cabinet Office.
As discussed with the Cabinet Office, a limited number of Departments were targeted and approached in the initial years of the scheme. In 1992, following further discussions with the Cabinet Office, it was decided to broaden the trawl to encompass all Departments and to trawl approximately every two years.
Participation in the scheme, both on the part of Departments and of individuals in those Departments, is voluntary. In general, staff who are nominated under the scheme have been offered placements. On occasion, those offers have been declined due to changes in personal circumstances.
The applications of ten Irish civil servants have recently been forwarded to the UK Cabinet Office, with a view to placement in 1998. Discussions are taking place with the Cabinet Office as to ways in which the scheme could be given a fresh impetus.
