Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

In the unavoidable absence of the Minister for Transport, I am pleased to have the opportunity to respond to the strong case made by Deputy Callanan. I am pleased to confirm that the decentralisation of Department of Transport staff to Loughrea is among the priority moves in the Government's decentralisation programme. This will involve the transfer of the road haulage functions of the Department of Transport from its offices in Park West, Dublin to Loughrea. The core functions of the road haulage division are licensing and enforcement. Licensing section is responsible for the issue of road freight carriers' licences and road passenger transport operators' licences. International section is responsible for the issue of community authorisations, permits, certificates of professional competence and letters of attestation.

The enforcement section enforces drivers' hours and licensing regulations. The Minister for Transport in the context of establishing a driver testing and standards authority has indicated his intention to add additional road safety functions to this authority. This could involve part of the road haulage functions.

The central applications facility has resulted in a positive response from applicants for this location. While neither the total numbers nor grades have been identified, the Minister for Transport is confident that finalising the moves will not present an insurmountable problem.

The immediate priority is to finalise a suitable location and construction of a premises. This work is being undertaken by the Office of Public Works. Once a premises is available, I expect no delay in completing the decentralisation process. It is expected that with the transfer of the road haulage functions to Loughrea, the Minister for Transport will take the opportunity to develop driver tester services and facilities which are available in the town.

The position in regard to Ballinasloe is less advanced as this has not been identified by the decentralisation implementation group as an appropriate candidate for an early move. The transport agencies identified for transfer to Ballinasloe are the National Roads Authority and the Railway Safety Commission. The primary role of the National Roads Authority is to secure the provision of a safe and efficient network of national roads. The primary role of the Railway Safety Commission is to foster, encourage, regulate and enforce railway safety and investigate and report on railway accidents. Both organisations include a significant proportion of professional and technical staff in their numbers and the level of interest expressed through the central applications facility system has been lower than was the case with the proposed moves to Loughrea. Nevertheless, the Department of Transport is continuing to work with both organisations to develop an implementation plan which will see the decentralisation to Ballinasloe as part of a subsequent phase of the Government's programme.

The rules of the central applications facility promised priority to those who applied before 7 September 2004. When the Civil Service has dealt with their applications, the applications received after 7 September 2004 will be processed by the Public Appointments Service. The process of issuing offers is due to commence shortly. To date, the central applications facility has not released any information in regard to applicants' second or subsequent preferences.

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