Civil servants last night threatened industrial action in the event of them being denied promotion or moved to "inappropriate jobs" as a result of decentralisation.
They told Minister of State for Finance Tom Parlon that morale in the public service was at an "all-time low" because of the decentralisation programme.
Mr Parlon heard the criticisms at a conference in Kilkenny of the Civil Service division of Impact, the State's biggest public sector union. He insisted the programme would be implemented in full.
Delegates to the conference will today debate a motion calling for industrial action in the event of any Impact member being removed from a job "specific to their skills, training and competencies", due to decentralisation.
The union's Civil Service executive supports the motion. Impact national secretary Peter Nolan said members were "worried and angry" that commitments given at the outset of the decentralisation process appeared to have been abandoned.
During the local elections last year, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern had promised that staff choosing to remain at their present locations would have meaningful jobs, he said. "Yet, 18 months after decentralisation was announced, there are still no proposals to turn these promises into realities."
Mr Nolan said Impact members included Civil Service engineers, architects, valuers, agricultural inspectors, probation officers and other specialists.
"Because these people are not transferable in the Civil Service, the present decentralisation programme presents insurmountable risks," he said.
"Neither they, nor their families, know what their future is, or what will happen to their careers or the services they have spent years building up."
If staff were moved to inappropriate jobs or denied promotion, industrial action was "likely", he warned.
Mr Parlon said the Government would address all of the concerns and attempt to resolve them in a way that fully reflected its "standing as a good employer".
"I should emphasise, however, that decentralisation is a policy of the Government and it will be implemented in the envisaged timescale."
Mr Parlon, whose responsibilities include the Office of Public Works, has been charged with overseeing implementation of the programme. He said the potential benefits of decentralisation were "immense".
Civil servants seeking to leave Dublin had a "broad range of options", while there would be a wider range of career opportunities for those already based outside the capital. Staff who aspired to senior management positions would no longer necessarily have to move to Dublin, while the programme would also provide a significant boost to local communities, Mr Parlon said.
