Minister of State for Labour Affairs Tony Killeen has acknowledged that the practical implementation of the Government's decentralisation programme had thrown up problems that had not been foreseen.
Speaking at the biennial conference of the civil service division of the trade union Impact, he said one of the problems was the scale of the decentralisation programme initially envisaged.
Impact yesterday called on all political parties to commit to a review of the civil service decentralisation programme after the election.
It said with just 2,000 civil servants due to move this year, rather than the initial target of 10,300, the programme "had clearly failed to meet its objectives".
Mr Killeen said the principle behind the decentralisation plan, first announced in 2003, was very good and worth pursing.
He believed the original Government decision on decentralisation was based on the positive experience of earlier moves to relocate civil servants out of Dublin.
He accepted that in these cases the numbers involved had been smaller and the locations attractive.
He said the Government believed the decentralisation process had to be put in place by agreement.
"It has to be acknowledged that there are people whose personal circumstances make it difficult, if not impossible, for them to move. There are also people who have concerns about promotional prospects."
Asked whether the Government would review the decentralisation project after the election, Mr Killeen said: "It depends which interpretation of review you take. I think the way of operating which takes account of people's individual needs . . . work and promotional prospects goes most of the way towards what people want."
He also said the issue of "inter-changeability" between staff in State agencies and civil and public service bodies had emerged in the context of decentralisation.
He said it would seem sensible that this issue should be examined, although he was not sure how it could be achieved.
Impact national secretary Louise O'Donnell said it was clear that some departments earmarked to relocate could not do so because too few specialists had opted to move.
In the technical and professional grades represented by Impact, the take-up for decentralisation "is as close to nil as makes no difference".
"It is safe to say that a successfully-implemented decentralisation programme is not part of the current administration's legacy," said Ms O'Donnell
"Indeed, their approach has undermined genuine regional development, antagonised staff and risked the continuity and quality of important public services."
Meanwhile, it was alleged at the conference that a UK company which won a contract to provide security and cleaning services for a State agency was breaking minimum pay and conditions set down in legally-binding joint labour committee regulations.
Impact said it had taken a case to the Labour Relations Commission against the company.
It also said it was awaiting the outcome of a rights commissioner hearing regarding the unfair dismissal of a union representative from the company.
Impact declined to identify the company, although it did name the State agency for whom the work is being carried out.
