Posted online: Feb 3rd, 2010

Inishowen councillors have expressed concern about the impact proposed Council job cuts will have on the peninsula.

The number of people employed by Councils in Donegal is set to be reduced by 60 this year.

Between 2008 and December last year, councils in Donegal reduced their workforce by 336. According to recently released figures, 60 more full-time posts will be lost due to a combination of contracts expiring and personnel retiring.

Local authorities have been forced to shed jobs as they grapple to try and cope with significantly reduced finances due to the current economic downturn.

According to Donegal County Manager, Michael McLoone, the number of people employed by Donegal County Council will be reduced to 870 by the end of this year, with 77 people being employed by town councils in Letterkenny, Bundoran, Ballyshannon and Buncrana.

Meanwhile, plans to shake-up the working arrangements of Donegal County. Council are being affected by industrial action by workers.

The IMPACT, SIPTU and craft unions have begun industrial action arising “from the Government decision to cut the rates of pay of Public Servants and their threats to make further cuts in pay, pension, benefits and jobs.”

The industrial action includes a refusal to co-operate with the National Transformation of Public Services agenda – designed to improve the efficiency and quality of council services – without union agreement.

But there is an added complication in Donegal where the Council is currently in the process of re-organising some of its structures and services due to the change in electoral areas from six to five. This means a re-organisation of public service offices and also a the re-organisation of management and staff structures.

Speaking at the January meeting of the Council, Buncrana Cllr. Padraig Mac Lochlainn pointed out the Council was trying to provide services, but with less resources, both in terms of finance and people, claiming the Council would lose one quarter of its staff in a three year period but was under pressure to try and preserve services.

Culdaff Cllr. Bernard McGuinness, meanwhile, recognised that there were issues involving the unions but also expressed concern about the impact on services to the public.

He said the reorganisation of some council services, and the redeployment of some staff, remained important issues but might take more time to resolve due to the industrial action.