asked the Minister for the Public Service if he will make a statement on the exchange of middle-management staffs in the civil service with grades in the same level in the private sector, as noted in the November issue of the journal of his Department.
Ceisteanna—Questions . Oral Answers . - Staff Transfer Scheme .
15.
Mr. Leonard
: In 1979 a scheme was agreed with the civil service staff associations governing the temporary transfer of middle-management staff in the civil service to other parts of the public sector and occasionally the private sector and of comparable staff in other organisations to the civil service.
The purpose of the scheme was to provide the civil servants and other employees concerned with an opportunity of broadening their skills and acquiring new experiences, to provide the civil service and other employing organisations with the special skills and expertise which officers on loan could bring and to promote better communication, co-operation and understanding across the public sector and between the public and private sectors.
So far the numbers of transfers which have taken place under the scheme are 22 between the civil service and the rest of the public sector and four between the civil service and the private sector. I am particularly disappointed at the small number of transfers with the private sector although I recognise the difficulties that can arise. There is, of course, also a fair degree of mobility of staff under interdepartmental promotion competitions involving the transfer of many hundred officers and loans outside the scheme, currently involving some 180 officers, for example, to the EEC.
It is clear that, for whatever reason, Departments are not making enough use of the scheme. I intend to take steps to rectify this. I would hope that private sector interests would be ready to cooperate.
Mr. Leonard
: Does the Minister propose to recommend this practice to his colleagues in the Departments of the Environment and Health, especially with a view to exchanges with health boards and local authorities?
: It is the Minister's intention to take active steps to encourage transfers and exchanges, particularly between their Departments and State agencies for which they are responsible and also with the private sector. Ministers will be asked to encourage and promote this idea.