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Nearly 1,000 civil servants apply to leave Dublin

The majority of requests from clerical officers, who are on the lower end of the civil service pay scale.

CLOSE TO 1,000 civil servants have applied to be transferred out of Dublin. 

Since a new scheme was launched in November 2017, which allows civil servants to request transfers to other parts of the country, 963 staff members based in the capital have asked to be moved.

A total of 154 staff members have asked to move in the other direction.

The majority of requests are from clerical officers, who are on the lower end of the civil service pay scale. These workers earn between €23,000 and 38,000. 

Of the figure of 963 looking to leave their job in Dublin, 541 were clerical officers. 

A total of 422 were executive officers, who earn between €27,000 and €49,000.

TDs such as Fianna Fáil’s Éamon Ó Cuív have said the demand by civil servants to leave life in Dublin is evidence that the spiralling costs of living, rent and housing prices as well as the long commute many face on a daily basis is making life “less attractive” in the capital. 

In an interview with TheJournal.ie last month, he said:

We have situation that I have never seen before where a couple with two very steady jobs can’t afford to buy a house. I believe house ownership and permanent tenure is vital for people’s wellbeing and for the stability of society.

He said the reduction of starter wages for nurses, gardaí and civil servants has contributed to an unfair society where it takes a lot longer for younger people to reach their full earning potential. He called for full pay restoration immediately. 

The Civil Service Mobility scheme is divided into mobility zones rather than county or province. An applicant may express a preference for mobility for a maximum of three zones from the list of 46 zones.

Staff members can apply for mobility within their current zone (excluding Dublin) as well as other zones. The next phase of the scheme is to allow civil servants who work in Dublin to apply to move jobs within the capital. This is due to be launched by Finance and Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe at a later date. 

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    Mute Gareth Keenan
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    Jan 12th 2019, 8:42 AM

    No brainer really particularly if not originally from Dublin and their job can be done anywhere

    430
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    Mute Billy Nomates
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    Jan 12th 2019, 8:52 AM

    @Gareth Keenan: Handy numbers and a job for life

    173
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    Mute Tom49
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    Jan 12th 2019, 9:02 AM

    @Gareth Keenan: and because Dublin is a kip

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    Mute The Taxpayer
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    Jan 12th 2019, 9:12 AM

    @Tom49: it’s only a kip to those green eyed monsters who can’t afford to live in it. To every else it’s the place to be.

    134
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    Mute The Taxpayer
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    Jan 12th 2019, 9:14 AM

    @Tom49: it’s only a kip to green eyed monsters who can’t afford to live there.

    36
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    Mute Flippermac
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    Jan 12th 2019, 9:14 AM

    @Tom49: dont for get to close the door behind ya
    fecking bogman

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    Mute Darach Malone
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    Jan 12th 2019, 9:18 AM

    @Tom49: A well researched and educated comment there no doubt.

    61
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    Mute Tom49
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    Jan 12th 2019, 9:21 AM

    @Flippermac: I don’t live in the Pale so no need to close any door behind me ya fecking junkie

    123
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    Mute Tom Kelly
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    Jan 12th 2019, 9:21 AM

    @The Taxpayer: The vast majority of people in Dublin are struggling and the last thing on their minds is a social life.. as for the place to be? I loveDublin but I moved out 15 years ago I can can afford to come back and enjoy it. I can’t say my Dublin family and friends enjoy the traffic, and the silly prices for restaurants and pubs

    125
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    Mute TimBuck2
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    Jan 12th 2019, 9:25 AM

    @Tom49: spoken like a true redneck

    53
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    Mute Veronica Conway
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    Jan 12th 2019, 9:42 AM

    @Tom49: almost 1/4 of a million people living in the Capital are non Dubs.

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    Mute Donal Hunt
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    Jan 12th 2019, 9:46 AM

    @Gareth Keenan: their jobs rarely move with them. Decisions on where roles are based lie with the employer.

    However, the role/grade system used by the civil service means that the skills required by different departments are transferable and ramp up times are typically low in new teams / organisations. One might go from processing correspondence for the dept of education to processing correspondence for the dept of agriculture. Same skills, different department.

    32
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    Mute Peter Hughes
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    Jan 12th 2019, 9:53 AM

    @Tom49: The true test of a kip is suicide rate, check the stats percentage wise and you will see the bog counties top the list, you live in depressing hellholes lets face it.

    51
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    Mute Richy
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    Jan 12th 2019, 10:01 AM

    @Peter Hughes: you are using suicide stats to try and prove your point. Very classy

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    Mute Peter Hughes
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    Jan 12th 2019, 10:08 AM

    @Richy: Not being insensitive but these are facts, living down the country is depressing and that is the reason so many people want to leave it and I really could not blame them to be honest.

    29
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    Mute Philip
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    Jan 12th 2019, 10:11 AM

    @Tom49: living in Blackrock, socialise in the city, not a kip in sight, where are you based??

    39
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    Mute David
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    Jan 12th 2019, 10:30 AM

    @Tom49: are you a bit lonely this morning and every morning, Tom? Need a cuddle?

    22
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    Mute John
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    Jan 12th 2019, 10:33 AM

    @Tom49: lazily saying Dublin is a kip is like saying everywhere down the country smells of sh#t.

    25
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    Mute John
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    Jan 12th 2019, 10:37 AM

    @Tom49: care to name the town/village you are from,I bet not.i bet its an absolute hole of a place like the majority of place down the county.

    19
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    Mute Bruce van der Gutschmitzer
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    Jan 12th 2019, 10:39 AM

    @Peter Hughes: it’s a sad symptom of the modern economy that young ppl find it near impossible to move back to their home place due to skills/jobs focus on Dublin. It leads to further disassociation and isolation for the few that remain. If decentralisation was a thought out policy with genuine enthusiasm and direction then we might not have the eye sores of derelict towns in the countryside.

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    Mute Margate
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    Jan 12th 2019, 10:49 AM

    @Flippermac: Strangely? More than Twice the commentators on here agree with Tom49…BUD!!

    15
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    Mute Margate
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    Jan 12th 2019, 10:55 AM

    @Peter Hughes: Horrendously offensive and Ignorant comment by you..esp towards ANY family reading this who have had such an experience. Remove and Apologise.

    16
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    Mute John
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    Jan 12th 2019, 11:40 AM

    @Margate: so that just means there are twice as many ignorant culchies on here with nothing better to do in their dying holes of a town/village than there are dubs……..we know there are places in Dublin that are kips but saying Dublin is a kip in general is just typical bogger talk.

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    Mute Philip
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    Jan 12th 2019, 12:47 PM

    @Margate: Usually to do with how early on a comment is posted in an article, nothing more than that. Calm down!

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    Mute Anto Whelan
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    Jan 12th 2019, 12:50 PM

    @John: the bleeding Culchies comming up ere and takin civil jobs from dubs who deserve it .

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    Mute Philip
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    Jan 12th 2019, 1:54 PM

    @Kamshafft: or to those who have lived here all our lives and love it. Where are you living?

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    Mute John
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    Jan 12th 2019, 2:15 PM

    @Kamshafft: and you are from?…..bet you are too embarrassed to name it like all the other boggers.

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    Mute TimBuck2
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    Jan 12th 2019, 2:32 PM

    @John: Limerick I bet ;)

    3
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    Mute Mark
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    Jan 12th 2019, 2:43 PM

    @John: where are all these bogs people keep talking about?!

    11
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    Mute Tom49
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    Jan 12th 2019, 3:22 PM

    @Mark: they’re what thick Dubs think is outside their little city because they don’t know anything else

    21
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    Mute TimBuck2
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    Jan 12th 2019, 3:39 PM

    @Kamshafft: in Ireland if you want to live in a city you have two choices. Dublin or emigrate. Dublin is a small city by any international standard. If you don’t live in Dublin the other ‘cities’ are medium towns and have that atmosphere. Dublin has suburbs bigger than the other regional towns. Personal preference I suppose.

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    Mute The Taxpayer
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    Jan 12th 2019, 4:01 PM

    @Kamshafft: best you stay out then bud. But listen when you’re looking for an education or cushy civil service job stick to the bog will ye and leave the jobs here for the tax paying Jackeens. Good lad.

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    Mute John
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    Jan 12th 2019, 4:14 PM

    @Kamshafft: ‘down south’……so embarrassed to name the town/village,thought so.

    4
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    Mute John
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    Jan 12th 2019, 4:18 PM

    @Tom49: so you come in and say ‘Dublin is a kip’ and when we come back and match your generalization you get all self conscious.typical chip on your shoulder/insecure country man.

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    Mute Tom49
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    Jan 12th 2019, 5:16 PM

    @John: haha how was I being self conscious? And I’m insecure because I don’t like Dublin?? If everyone outside the pale is a bogman then what do you care if I don’t like Dublin? Insecure are we?

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    Mute John
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    Jan 12th 2019, 5:49 PM

    @Kamshafft: I am not expecting an address, a village/town would do. But you hide behind your excuse.

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    Mute John
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    Jan 12th 2019, 5:53 PM

    @Tom49: you are just typical of country people who have an inherent dislike of a city of one and a half million people……..how insecure and narrow minded is that,but not surprising.its people like you that make me smile when I see Dublin booming and the rest of the country dying on its feet.

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    Mute Tom49
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    Jan 12th 2019, 6:08 PM

    @John: I’ve lived in bigger cities than Dublin that are far superior. It’s not just the city I dislike, it’s the people who have a false sense of self importance as if Dublin is anything special. And the rest of the county is doing just fine but the fact that you think it’s dying on its feet and that makes you happy is typical of the thick Dub.

    18
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    Mute IRL77
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    Jan 12th 2019, 6:55 PM

    @Tom49: because it’s full of culchies who add nothing to it…..back to the bog with them.

    2
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    Mute IRL77
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    Jan 12th 2019, 7:03 PM

    @Tom49: refers to the Pale yet he clearly is a Brit lover as his support for a foreign football team indicates……typical ignorant culchie.

    3
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    Mute Tom49
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    Jan 12th 2019, 7:11 PM

    @IRL77: ya I support an English team. I don’t have a problem with Britain or “foreign sports” as you call it. You must do if you thinking calling me a Brit lover as some sort of insult. Typical ignorant Dub.

    9
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    Mute IRL77
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    Jan 12th 2019, 7:31 PM

    @Tom49: you can’t read either….at least your not in Dublin but unfortunately some of your gene pool probably are…..ask them to leave as well if you don’t mind.

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    Mute Tom49
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    Jan 12th 2019, 7:43 PM

    @IRL77: I can read just fine. I called it the pale because people like you don’t like it and I support an English team because I’m not a moron that’s against “foreign sports”. If people from the country want to live among the junkies in the pale that’s their own problem

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    Mute Tom49
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    Jan 12th 2019, 7:44 PM

    @IRL77: seeya later BUD!

    2
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    Mute IRL77
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    Jan 12th 2019, 8:57 PM

    @Kamshafft: very thin skin along with your friend Tom.

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    Mute Dave Murphy
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    Jan 12th 2019, 9:58 AM

    Home ownership rather than house ownership would be a better concept. Dublin has to build up with livable apartments. Pushing suburbs out into surrounding counties isn’t a solution.

    115
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    Mute acallkelly
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    Jan 12th 2019, 11:02 AM

    Love to hear the private sector look on in envy at so called public sector. TheI other man’s grass etc.
    I retired in 2016 public sector, no restoration yet a year on from the date it was supposed to happen. Pension is 156.00 euro per month after tax. Yes per month. No cruise for me then

    52
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    Mute John Strahan
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    Jan 12th 2019, 11:19 AM

    @acallkelly: haha, methinks you are withholding some information just to make an argument there, my friend.

    54
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    Mute Mick Barnier
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    Jan 12th 2019, 9:55 AM

    If you work in the private sector it’ll do you no good to see how the other half lives.
    Low paid clerical officers on €38k seek transfer

    43
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    Mute Robert McGuinness
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    Jan 12th 2019, 10:39 AM

    @Mick Barnier: €38k is the top end of the scale, attainable after 20 years service.

    125
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    Mute Belebop
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    Jan 12th 2019, 10:42 AM

    @Mick Barnier: You do know 38k is after 12 odd years of service? The pay scales for clerical officers are extremely bad compared with the work that they do. Clerical staff often work outside their role specs and a lot of the work they do is what would be expected of an executive officer. They don’t get the pay for doing that work either, unless they get an acting up allowance which mostly doesn’t happen.

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    Mute Bat Daly
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    Jan 12th 2019, 12:41 PM

    @Robert McGuinness: No one is a clerical officer after 20yrs. Automatic promotion whether you deserve it or not. Cop on.

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    Mute Dave
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    Jan 12th 2019, 12:45 PM

    @Bat Daly: you sir are talking through your hole, that simply is not true

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    Mute Mark
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    Jan 12th 2019, 2:46 PM

    @Bat Daly: that’s the most wrong thing I’ll hear today and I haven’t even gotten to the pub yet

    29
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    Mute Blah blah
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    Jan 12th 2019, 7:09 PM

    @Bat Daly: that system is long long gone!!

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    Mute Belebop
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    Jan 12th 2019, 9:50 PM

    @Blah blah: Definitely long gone. Any civil servant would tell you that automatic promotion is a myth. There’s a huge process involved if one wants to move up a grade. Certainly not an easy one either.

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    Mute trebloc01
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    Jan 12th 2019, 10:03 AM

    And the boss thinks they are applying because they are unhappy with their job.

    Accommodation

    FFG are letting the young people down

    38
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    Mute John Strahan
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    Jan 12th 2019, 10:02 AM

    Full pay restoration for the public sector would merely remove their CONTRIBUTION to an “unfair society”. What about everyone else? What about the people that bought during the boom years, who have yet to see the value of their properties return to the levels that they bought at, who are paying mortgages that don’t reflect the value of their homes? In many cases those individuals have yet to see their income return to boom time levels, and they are unlikely to do so in the near future, in time for it to make any difference to their struggle to raise their families. Focussing on restoration for one sector “contributes to an unfair society”, more accurately than either screwing everyone, or, preferably, not screwing anyone.

    22
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    Mute Stevie Doran
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    Jan 12th 2019, 11:50 AM

    Civil Servant Application Question: “Are you able to pass the buck and fob the public off?” Answer: Yes or Yes

    18
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    Mute Murr Paul
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    Jan 12th 2019, 11:50 AM

    The reason is it’s far far easier to get a Civil Service job in Dublin and then look for transfer, the majority of staff in my previous office were Dublin transfers.

    On the other hand half of transfer offers are being rejected and during decentralisation the government couldn’t get staff to leave.

    When the get an offer to work in the local dole office perhaps they have a wee rethink about moving

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    Mute Ba Cr
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    Jan 13th 2019, 12:01 AM

    It’s amazing millions of americans claim to be irish and seem proud of it.. they obviously have no clue how hard modern ireland is.. i love the people of ireland, i love the banter,i love the culture. As i iriah man living here all my life, i just had ennough and thinking of moving away. The goverment has failed us. People who just won’t work gets everything handed to them without earning it. Crime is on the rise and no matter how many convictions they just get realeased. Hospitals are overcrowded and the nurses and doctors do long hours for small wages. There a shortage of guards. There is a massive homeless proplem but yet we set up the refuggees. Mental health is on the rise but the goverment dont care, its up to the average generous people to fundraise. Houses are way over priced and the landlords can charge what they want. Most jobs now are very long hours and small wages..there constant new taxes(property tax maybe water charges) as much as i love the people, i’m starting to be ashamed to be irish.there is no life in ireland no more. Greed took over this country and destroyed it.

    14
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    Mute Frank Lee
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    Jan 12th 2019, 1:12 PM

    More rhetoric from Fianna Fail just what we need to sort the ever growing tumors killing our society

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    Mute Philip
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    Jan 12th 2019, 12:46 PM

    Usually to do with how early on a comment is posted in an article, nothing more than that. Calm down!

    1
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