BY AUSTIN LYNCH

A public meeting on the 'Review of Policy on Location of Public Sector Jobs' held in Enniskillen last Friday heard a number of strong views on how Enniskillen, and Fermanagh, have not been treated equally when it comes to public sector employment.

The public meeting, led by Professor George Bain, was well attended by representatives from public sector employers as well as local politicians and members of the local business and professional communities.

Professor Bain explained that he was one of a seven-member review team who have been appointed by the Northern Ireland Executive to carry out a formal review of Government policy on the location of public sector jobs in Northern Ireland.

"Can the (public sector) jobs in Belfast be located elsewhere?' Professor Bain asked the Enniskillen audience.

Explaining the reasoning behind the series of public meetings the review team have held across the North, Professor Bain stated: "We thought it would be useful to talk to people across Northern Ireland and get the feeling on the ground about this."

Sinn Fein MLA Gerry McHugh told Professor Bain there was a 'glass ceiling' on some public sector jobs here and that, in certain cases, to take up a promotion would mean a move to Belfast.

Mr McHugh questioned if there was, in fact, greater centralisation taking place in that the lower level jobs go out from the hub but that higher level jobs remain in Belfast.

Citing as an example of this, the Forestry Service Gerry McHugh reported that a number of jobs were in the process of being centralised from Fermanagh to Belfast.

This point was seconded by a representative from the Forestry Service, who explained that the top jobs here had moved to Belfast, even though 'the trees, and the customer base' remain here.

The meeting was told that workers in the Forestry Service now find themselves unable to take up promotions above 'FO1' level as these jobs, which were in the West, have now been moved to Belfast.

Reacting to this, Professor Bain said he wanted his team to report to the Executive quickly before more decisions like this are made. He hoped to report before the summer.

Stephen Huggett, Sinn Fein MLA, questioned the location of the headquarters of the Department of Agriculture at Dundonald House.

"What's it doing in Belfast," he asked.

The meeting also heard from a representative from the Western Education and Library Board (WELB) who said they were constantly dealing with what she described as a 'Belfast mindset'.

"We will be asked to attend meetings in Belfast at 9.30am, but a meeting in Omagh will be scheduled for 11.00am? Why is this?", she asked.

Professor Bain admitted that, in his experience some, not all, Permanent Secretaries did have what he termed a 'Belfast mindset'.

Continuing this point, the SDLP MLA Tommy Gallagher insisted there was still the perception, by some in Belfast, 'that everybody in Northern Ireland is within an hour of Belfast'.

There were issues with jobs being taken away from Fermanagh and that there was nothing coming up in the near future, he stated.

Mr Gallagher said Fermanagh, and Enniskillen, needed to be sold better as there was already plenty of industrial workspace, and that the roads to the West were going to be improved in the next few years.

Professor Bain explained: "The overall objective of this exercise is to come up with a distribution of public sector jobs which best supports, and enhances, the sustainable economic and social development of Northern Ireland," Northern Ireland had the highest number of public sector jobs in the UK, and this was balanced against a relatively small private sector here. However, only 10% of the public sector jobs here are with the Civil Service.

"We are talking about moving people here, not just jobs" said the Professor, who explained it is harder to move people than it is to move jobs.

Professor Bain explained the Review had five objectives: Service Delivery, Improved Operational Efficiency, Promote Economic Growth, Regeneration, and Sustainability. "These are not all going to work in the same direction. There are potential conflicts but the review will begin to balance out the trade-offs".