Fórsa is awaiting assurances that the civil registration service will not be taken into the civil service General Register Office (GRO). The GRO has denied that this is planned, but Fórsa officials say there is an increasing amount of “noise” suggesting that it may be.

The union met management on this and other civil reg issues in February, but a meeting scheduled for late March was delayed at management’s request. The union expects the position to be clarified when the meeting is reconvened.

Fórsa Head of Health Éamonn Donnelly said the union wanted to move onto important issues like recruitment, job evaluation, and the conversion of temporary posts to permanent jobs. “We really need clarity on the future status of the service before we can address these issues. I expect that to happen soon,” he said.