I understand that Mr Colum Boyle, the Business Development Director of the Social Security Agency has issued a letter to your paper challenging the position adopted by NIPSA in relation to the current Strategic Business Review which has recently been issued by the Department for Social Development Minister Margaret Ritchie for public consultation.

NIPSA have no difficulty in having a debate and discussion with Mr Boyle, the DSD Minister or anyone else at any time, anywhere about the Agency's proposals relating to the Strategic Benefit Review.

However, it is difficult to do so in the context of a letter bereft of fact and riddled with inaccuracies and misleading statements.

I should advise your readers that NIPSA is the trade union to which the overwhelming majority of social security staff and job centre staff belong.

Mr Boyle makes four completely inaccurate statements about our position.

Firstly, he alleges that we have claimed that half of the local offices would be closing. We have never made that statement in private, in public or in print. Perhaps Mr Boyle would reflect further before he makes such scurrilous allegations.

Secondly, he suggests that we have stated that staff would be expected to travel hundreds of miles under the Management proposals. We didn't make that statement. Management stated in their document that staff would have to travel with the benefit they are doing to the new centre. The most staff would have to travel is in the west of the province. Staff who deal with jobseekers allowance in the Londonderry office will be expected to travel to Enniskillen under the Management proposals. That is not NIPSA's suggestion but it is a statement of fact as contained in a document issued by Management to staff headed "Questions and Answers". In other words the staff in Londonderry will be forced to travel to Enniskillen (and indeed staff from Enniskillen who deal with income support benefit will have to travel to Londonderry). This will be a maximum of 120 miles extra per day on bad roads. we have never stated privately, publicly or in print that staff would be expected to travel hundreds of miles. We have accurately reflected the Management proposals.

Thirdly, Mr Boyle suggests there will be no staff redundancies and that various claims to the contrary are totally untrue. Again NIPSA have never claimed privately, publicly or in print that there will be redundancies. What we have claimed is what Management have told us that 200 posts will be lost in order to fund the savings which Management anticipate the exercise will produce.

Fourthly, Mr Boyle suggests that we have been untrue in stating that almost 500 staff delivering benefits such as jobseekers allowance, income support and social fund will be lost as part of the proposals. This is not a NIPSA allegation.