Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputy Donal Moynihan for raising this important issue. As he stated, the Minister for Finance announced the decentralisation of 10,300 public service staff to 53 centres in 25 counties, including eight Department headquarters, in budget 2003.

The overall decentralisation plan for the Department of Agriculture and Food provides for the relocation of 600 staff, including 200 information technology staff, from Dublin to Portlaoise; the Department's staff in Cork city and Mallow offices to Fermoy, involving approximately 100 staff; the Department's staff in three Cork laboratories and two Limerick laboratories to Macroom, which currently employ some 100 staff; and 69 staff of Bord Bia to Enniscorthy.

The Cork laboratories to be decentralised are a dairy science laboratory, a veterinary research laboratory and the brucellosis laboratory, all of which are located on the Model Farm Road in Cork. As the Deputy will be aware, my Department has agreed to give the land at Model Farm Road, Cork, amounting to approximately ten acres, to the affordable housing initiative. The Limerick laboratories being decentralised are also a dairy science laboratory and a veterinary research laboratory. In addition to the site on Model Farm Road, the relocation to Macroom will free up the sites of the existing dairy science and veterinary research laboratories in Limerick, comprising approximately one acre at Killkeely Road and Knockalisheen.

The accommodation brief of requirements for the office complex in Portlaoise has been prepared and forwarded to the Office of Public Works. The accommodation brief for the Macroom laboratories is being finalised in my Department and will be sent to the Office of Public Works shortly. The brief will outline the Department's requirements for office staff, laboratories, visitor areas and general service areas for the new laboratory complex. Bringing together these laboratories into one complex in Macroom will enable the Department to introduce a level of rationalisation which will lead to improved operational efficiencies.

The timeframe for the selection of the site or property and the completion of the development will be a matter for the Office of Public Works which will submit an application for planning permission in due course. The decentralisation implementation group report published on 24 November 2004 provides for 400 posts from my Department to be relocated in the first phase of moves to new Department offices in Portlaoise. It was subsequently announced that 200 information technology posts would also decentralise. This would bring total staff numbers in Portlaoise to approximately 850.

The moves to Fermoy and Macroom were not included in the first phase. A further report from the decentralisation implementation group is due to issue shortly dealing with other locations. Based on figures released from the central applications facility in September 2004, 91 people have expressed an interest in relocating to Macroom. This number comprises 45 people from within the Department, 41 from other Departments and five from the public service. As yet, however, there is a significant shortfall in Department of Agriculture and Food specialist staff volunteering for Macroom where many of the posts are professional and technical in nature.

I thank Deputy Donal Moynihan for raising this important issue. The Deputy has worked extremely hard to outline and highlight the advantages of including his constituency of Cork North-West in the Government's major decentralisation programme. I hope my reply outlines the up-to-date position regarding progress made to date.

See this speech in context