Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 10 to 14, inclusive, together.

Forty-five staff currently serving in my Department have applied through the central applications facility to relocate under the decentralisation programme. The breakdown by grade is as follows: assistant principal, nine; higher executive officer, four; administrative officer, ten; executive officer, ten; staff officer, two; and clerical officer, ten. Three former members of staff have been assigned to decentralised posts.

Arrangements are in place to ensure that the decentralisation of staff does not impact negatively on the quality of the services provided by the Department. These arrangements include the phased redeployment of some of the remaining staff to the areas of the Department most affected by decentralisation and the provision of training and job profiles or work manuals to new staff, as appropriate. That almost 22% of the staff of the Department have opted to relocate outside Dublin shows the underlying decision to initiate a comprehensive decentralisation programme was correct.

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