Senior civil servants condemned the Government's decentralisation programme yesterday, describing it as a "mess" which had turned them into political "pawns".
Delegates at the annual conference of the Association of Higher Civil and Public Servants said the serious concerns they had expressed about the programme were being borne out.
They called for the Government to review the scope and timing of the programme, which involves the transfer of more than 10,000 public servants from Dublin.
The union's general secretary, Seán Ó Riordáin, told delegates he had been a civil servant for over 41 years, including the last 18 as a trade unionist on secondment from the Department of the Taoiseach. "During that period I have never seen any single issue which, as much as decentralisation, has completely alienated Dublin-based public servants and their families."
These were "decent, hardworking people" who had spent their lives in the service of the State, and who bitterly resented "what is widely perceived as their being used as pawns in a politically contentious decentralisation programme".
Mr Ó Riordáin said despite the "official spin" there were serious problems with the programme.
"Within the Civil Service only half the numbers required are prepared to move from Dublin to posts in decentralised locations, and in the State agencies . . . the situation is substantially worse with virtually nobody wanting to move."
The wage costs alone for every 1,000 surplus employees who did not wish to relocate with their jobs would be €50 million.
Mr Ó Riordáin said the pace of the programme should be slowed down and its "unworkable elements" removed "with the aim of better matching the supply of staff in Dublin willing to move with the number of posts to be decentralised".
Arts, sport and tourism branch delegate Barry Murphy said the programme was the "worst-planned initiative in the history of the State", but it was civil servants rather than politicians who would suffer the consequences.
Calling for the programme to be suspended, finance branch delegate Paddy Howard said it was a mess that had been "designed on the back of an envelope".
Delegates voted against urging a suspension of the programme, however. Revenue delegate Garvan O'Keeffe said it was a flawed initiative which should be allowed to "run aground naturally".
Doubts were also expressed about whether all of those who had applied to relocate were really prepared to move.
Vice-chairman of the union, Ciarán Rohan, said there was "considerable anecdotal evidence" of people applying to move in order to "hedge their bets".
There was laughter when Fás branch delegate Mark Crowther said of the six Fás staff who had applied to relocate to Birr, Co Offaly, one had retired last year.
Another of the six was a senior manager who did not wish to move but felt he had had "no option but to put his name down".
