asked the Minister for the Environment the plans he has to ensure that the country's rate collectors and other people involved in the processing and assessment of rates in local authorities all over the country will remain in useful employment.

Staffing questions arising in respect of rate collectors following the abolition of rates on domestic and certain other hereditaments are at present being examined by a special working party within the Conciliation and Arbitration Scheme for Local Authority Staff.

In regard to the clerical and administrative staff engaged on processing and assessment duties in connection with rates, I do not envisage any major problem arising which cannot be satisfactorily dealt with by local authority managers by re-deployment, rearrangement of duties and so on.

While appreciating the importance of rate collectors to the Minister's party, is it reasonable to say that negotiations are in progress with a view to redundancies in some quarters?

Within certain local authorities?

Yes.

That is not so. I am awaiting the final report from a working party comprising local authority members, managers and the union concerned. I hope to have the report next week. These people set up a sub-committee on this question some months ago. That sub-committee has reported. Complaints reached me regarding some form of negotiations being in progress at local level between managers and some rate collectors but following investigations in the counties named this was found to be incorrect. However, a circular was issued at the time to all managers concerned directing them not to engage in individual negotiations pending the outcome of the recommendations of the working party.

Is the Minister in a position to guarantee that there will not be any loss of jobs?

I am not prepared to give any such guarantee at this stage but there will not be any forced redundancy.

I am calling the next question.

But there will be redundancies.

There may be people who will opt to leave.

But that would constitute a loss of jobs since these people would not be replaced.

I will remind the Deputy that as a result of the changes in respect of domestic rates the volume of ratings has been reduced to 30 per cent of what it was last year.

We must move on to the next question.

The Minister is talking about a situation he inherited but I am talking about jobs.

Some rate collectors who are nearing retirement anyway may opt to retire early.

But normally these would be replaced.

For a number of years rate collectors have not been replaced on retirement. With the consent of their union, of which, incidentally, I happen to be a member, there was agreement with management that in order to build up existing jobs to better jobs, small jobs which did not provide much of a living for rate collectors would not be continued after the people concerned had retired.

Regardless of what the Minister may say there is a net loss of jobs involved.

I called Question No. 24 long ago.