Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 15 Nov 2000

Vol. 526 No. 1

Written Answers. - UN Security Council Posts.

Jim O'Keeffe

Ceist:

164 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will give details of the new appointments and posts filled as a consequence of Ireland's election to the UN Security Council; if these appointments were filled in accordance with normal procedures and if an opportunity was given to all interested staff to make an application; if not, the reason in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25994/00]

Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Cowen)

The Deputy will be aware of the important ongoing agenda of work in my Department. This includes issues such as the enlargement of the EU, the intergovernmental conference on EU treaty changes, disarmament, Northern Ireland, development aid, etc. It is not possible to disrupt this work in mid-year by redeploying the staff members involved.

Our approach to SECCO membership was two-fold (a) to be able to operate effectively from the start by using a number of people who had the necessary knowledge and experience and who could move seamlessly from campaign work to meet membership demands; and (b) to minimise disruption of the ongoing work of the Department.

It is necessary for the period of membership to deploy additional staff to carry out work associated with membership. Some of these will work in New York and others in Dublin and Geneva. To meet this need, the Department reassigned a number of officers who had worked on the election campaign. We were also able to call on the services of three experienced people who had taken career breaks and were available to work in New York, Oslo and Geneva. In addition, in order to minimise disruption we have postponed filling two other posts abroad at the normal level until next summer when the next round of planned postings take place.

The planned postings system was introduced in the mid-1980s. It was designed to allow both the Department and officers and their families adequate time and notice to plan and prepare for reassignments. The practice is that most transfers take place in the summer period. It is, of course, understood that at all times there must be a balance between the needs of the work of the Department and those of individuals affected. There will be the normal planned posting series of transfers next summer and the temporary SECCO staffing operation will not reduce the number of postings that will be on offer.

I am happy that the decisions taken are the correct and responsible ones from the point of view of good management.