The primary mechanism for placing civil servants who are in posts which are due to decentralise but wish to remain in Dublin is by way of bilateral transfer. As staff in organisations who are remaining in Dublin, who have applied to decentralise, continue to be transferred into decentralising organisations, the posts they vacate become available to those wishing to remain in Dublin.
In addition, the Public Appointments Service has commenced the operation of a system which will match Dublin based posts with people wishing to remain in Dublin. Any decentralising organisation which anticipates that it will have staff wishing to remain in Dublin who cannot be placed within the organisation will engage with the Public Appointments Service in the placement of these individuals. The precise operation of these arrangements is currently being discussed with the civil service unions to improve their overall effectiveness. The aim is to achieve a close alignment between the assignment of staff to Dublin posts and the readiness of Departments to release staff at particular grade levels. When these discussions are concluded, Departments and Offices will be asked to update their returns to the Public Appointments Service. The information sought by the Deputy will be furnished as soon as that exercise is completed.