Sixty planning officers are to move to Land and Property Services in Northern Ireland it has been announced.

Stormont Environment Minister Edwin Poots has welcomed the move to secure posts for the Professional Technical grade officers to work on a project for the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Mr Poots said: "This is a particularly difficult time for the Planning Service but we are making every effort to ensure that staff awaiting redeployment are helped as quickly as possible.

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"The Department is putting all its efforts into securing successful schemes to transfer or loan staff to other areas in order to keep these key skills within the wider Northern Ireland Civil Service, this remains our primary focus."

Finance Minister Sammy Wilson said: "I welcome the redeployment of staff from the Planning Service to this project. This is a good example of departments working corporately to ensure surplus staff across the NICS are found alternative positions suited to their skills as swiftly as possible."

The staff from Planning Service will be based in Belfast, Downpatrick and Omagh.

(CD/BMcC)