EARLY RETIREMENT:FIANNA FÁIL TD Seán Fleming says an aspect of the Government's new incentivised early retirement scheme is a "sham".
He claimed a Department of the Environment circular sent to local authorities dealt largely with facilitating re-entry to the public service for those who had already availed of the scheme.
Mr Fleming was speaking at a meeting of the Oireachtas Environment Committee, of which he is chairman.
“It’s a sham, this aspect of the early retirement scheme...They are clearly expecting a lot of people to take that up,” he said.
A spokesman for the Department of the Environment has strongly rejected Mr Fleming’s interpretation of the scheme.
When Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan announced the scheme in last month’s Budget speech, he said those leaving under the scheme would not be replaced except in circumstances sanctioned by his Department.
Mr Fleming yesterday said the scheme was a good idea as it aimed to facilitate a permanent reduction in staff numbers and reduce the public service pay bill.
However, he complained that the circular sent to city and county managers outlined ways in which people formerly employed in another area of the public service who availed of the scheme could take up employment in a local authority.
Mr Fleming said people who had availed of the scheme should not be allowed to come back onto the public payroll.
The circular also states: “Where, exceptionally, a business need exists to re-engage in the same part of the public service an individual with specialised skills who has availed of the scheme, this may only be done with prior Department of Finance sanction and for a temporary period.”
A spokesman for the Department of the Environment said: “Following the Budget resolution voted on by all Government TDs, the Department of Finance then moved to draw up a scheme relating to early retirement. “The Department of the Environment, as is normal practice, circulated the rules of that scheme as drawn up by the Department of Finance, to all local authorities to allow for its implementation.”
Mr Fleming added: “It’s almost like a revolving door. You can actually leave a local authority, having availed of the scheme, and come back through the same door again and take up a similar post to the one that you have had before,” he said.
“They’ve gone to extreme lengths to facilitate the re-employment of people availing of the scheme, which seems to be against the spirit of what the scheme is about.”
