Michael Ahern (Cork East, Fianna Fail)

The Department is required to move 250 posts to Carlow under the Government's decentralisation programme. In addition, four of the agencies under the aegis of the Department are due to decentralise as follows: FÁS is to move 383 posts to Birr, County Offaly, Enterprise Ireland is to move 292 posts to Shannon, the Health and Safety Authority is to move 110 posts to Thomastown and the National Standards Authority of Ireland is to move 132 posts to Arklow.

The number of Department posts in business units decentralising to Carlow, as at 20 March, is 276. Having regard to the Department of Finance agreed staff protocols, the Department has approached all general service staff who expressed a first preference before 7 September 2004, that is, priority applications, for relocation to Carlow through the central application facility and there are currently 169 priority first preference applications for Carlow, with good interest across all grades.

I am confident that in the next two weeks, when officials in my Department analyse the so-called "two to ten" priority applicants, that is, those who before the 7 September 2004 deadline identified Carlow as their second or subsequent choice, there will be a further significant increase in applications for Carlow. Should there be a deficit of staff in a grade or grades following the "two to ten" trawl, my Department will then assess the post-September 2004 applications, in line with Department of Finance policy.

My Department continues to assign Carlow-bound applicants to decentralising posts with 91 such staff currently in place and we expect to have all decentralising posts filled in sufficient time to ensure staff are adequately trained in advance of the move to Carlow.

On the property side of the Department's move, the Office of Public Works has completed the purchase of a site in Carlow town centre. The next steps in the process will include the OPW finalising the public sector benchmark exercise and issuing a call for expressions of interest for the design, build, finance and maintain procurement option selected for this project. The OPW expects construction to begin early in 2007 and the construction phase may take up to 24 months.

In order to accommodate staff who wish to move earlier than the projected new building completion date, officials of my Department, in consultation with the Department of Finance and the OPW, as well as decentralising staff and business units, are actively exploring the option of an earlier move to Carlow, subject to securing high quality temporary accommodation. This latter option could allow movement of staff to Carlow during the first half of next year.

The Department continues to provide advice and support to each of the four agencies in progressing their decentralisation programmes and there is a dedicated agency decentralisation committee to drive the process forward. In addition, I am satisfied that each agency is fully engaged in the process and taking all of the relevant steps to advance its decentralisation plans.

In outlining the current agency position on decentralisation, it must be remembered that CAF data is based on priority first preference applications. As with the Department, agencies will seek details of second to tenth priority applications over coming weeks and will then look at post-September 2004 applications to fill any gaps remaining.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House.

The FÁS head office relocation, involving approximately 400 staff, to Birr, County Offaly, has a target date of Easter 2009 for the move. The negotiations for the purchase of a site in Birr are at an advanced stage.

In addition to the 67 or so first preference CAF applications from across the civil and public service, to date 71 FÁS staff have signalled their agreement to transfer to Birr. However, the inclusion of a relocation clause in recruitment and promotion contracts is being opposed by SIPTU, which represents a majority of the staff in head office. This was the subject of a Labour Court hearing, which recommended that the matter be referred for discussions to the appropriate central body. SIPTU balloted its members on this issue and has secured a mandate for industrial action. The Department is, with FÁS, engaging with the Department of Finance to see how the issue can be addressed.

With regard to Enterprise Ireland, the most recent CAF figures show that a total of 52 people have signalled their interest in moving to Shannon at this stage. The most immediate implementation step for Enterprise Ireland is to provide for a new headquarters building, designed to meet the business needs of the organisation. Enterprise Ireland, working closely with the Office of Public Works, has identified but not yet acquired a preferred site in Shannon.

The position with regard to the Health and Safety Authority, with 110 posts moving to Thomastown, is that to date a total of 62 people have expressed an interest in transferring to Thomastown. The authority has been advised by the OPW that as the site procurement is in the final stages, the current time-line for availability for occupancy is mid-2008.

The authority has now secured an office in Kilkenny city which will act as an interim base for 21 staff who are in the process of recruitment for the registration, evaluation and authorisation of chemicals, REACH, strategy as well as some serving staff who wish to move in advance of the Thomastown premises being available. The authority has informed me that it hopes to have this office fit for occupancy by May of this year. All staff who move in the interim to Kilkenny city will transfer to Thomastown when the premises there are completed.

With regard to the National Standards Authority of Ireland, a total 132 staff are to be relocated to Arklow. The latest available CAF figures show the total number of first preference priority applications received from within the agency is 11. When those from across the civil and public service are added the total is 130. However, a significant grade mismatch is evident within these numbers. NSAI is working closely with OPW in identifying and securing suitable office accommodation in the Arklow area and the NSAI anticipates a target date of April 2009 as the completion date of its decentralisation programme.

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