Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)

I have great pleasure in defending my senior colleague, the Minister, Deputy Dermot Ahern. He did not seek in any fashion to threaten staff and that would be a very wrong assumption for the Deputy to make.

The Department has taken very strong proactive measures to minimise the threat raised by the Deputy of corporate loss of memory. Specific measures have been taken to protect the development division against such an occurrence because of this very difficult move to Limerick, which will be executed in early 2007. I outlined some of the measures to the House on the last occasion I replied to questions. These measures will include hand-over periods of one month before a member of staff is replaced by another person who will be decentralised to Limerick. This has proved useful to new staff joining the Department who have been learning about their new positions from the person they will be replacing.

The Department has conducted an audit at official level to ensure all relevant documentation which may be required by those coming from the wider Civil Service and decentralising to Limerick will be captured accurately and to ensure the corporate memory, as referred to by Deputy Allen, will be intact and protected in a positive way. The documentary knowledge and the expertise and knowledge of the fine diplomats who have worked overseas and at headquarters which relates to the development programme will be protected.

The Deputy asked whether I had consulted the NGOs. I regularly consult NGOs on the subject of decentralisation. They have their view and I have mine, and I and my senior colleague have a job to do. Decentralisation is a Government policy decision and we will do our best to ensure it happens within the ambitious timeframe of early 2007.

I reassure the Deputy opposite that there is good news about a site in Limerick which has been identified by the Office of Public Works as a location for the division when decentralisation occurs. The Department is very pleased with the numbers of staff who have opted to decentralise. A total of 42 people represents 33% of the staff requirement that will be needed in Limerick, which will be 123 posts. That is a good level at this stage. This process started in September 2005 when a total of 13 people had volunteered to go to Limerick but the figure has now risen to 41.

The Deputy is correct that the numbers fluctuate. Since he asked his last parliamentary question there has been a drop because, as the Deputy correctly pointed out, a number of the specialists withdrew their names and were unwilling to decentralise because they required more clarity on the issue of their conditions of work and service. It is not uncommon for the numbers to fluctuate from month to month and they may increase or decrease. It is the case that some people apply for decentralisation but other offers come their way within the wider decentralisation process and they pursue their ambitions in other Departments. The development specialists who have withdrawn their names have a specific issue about their conditions of service and the Deputy will be aware this is a matter for a European court to determine. Wider implications for the Civil Service——

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