Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

Obviously, therefore, whatever entitlements one might have in the Gaeltacht certainly would not apply to Knock. Second, to my knowledge there is no bonus or extra payment for any civil servants operating in the Gaeltacht. The Deputy raised issues concerning gardaí and others, but they relate to regulations that are made under various Acts. To the best of my knowledge, there is no difference in the wages of civil servants in my Department, irrespective of where they are based. I will confirm that for the Deputy if he wishes me to do so.

We have had 187 applicants for 164 places in Knock. They do not all match off according to grades. However, I am confident that we will be able to staff Knock fully. We are working on the basis of transferring people into the Department who want to go to Knock. One of the interesting developments, which I had predicted in the beginning, is that people who are already in rural locations want to transfer. For example, people in places such as Galway and Castlebar wish to transfer to the Department in Knock. It is giving a regional choice, which is what we had hoped for, without having to come to Dublin. If someone is already in a western location and wants to work in the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs in Knock, that person will not want to come to Dublin for a year or two to transfer back to the west. Those are the issues but the programme is going well.

The Deputy is correct in respect of the delays involved. The Minister of State, Deputy Noel Ahern, put it well when he told Deputy Boyle that if one tries to give a deadline in an honest answer, making the best call, one is in danger of not always achieving the target. Delays can occur in purchasing properties, for example, but the decentralisation programme is proceeding well. The issues concerning decentralisation are proceeding apace and while the programme may not be going as fast as we had hoped, it is still going very well.

The Minister of State and myself have asked the chief executive officer of Foras na Gaeilge to furnish us with an implementation plan by the end of 2005.

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