Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

The Government continues, through the decentralisation implementation group, to work through the proposals with staff. More than 10,600 civil and public servants have applied to the central application facility to relocate and it receives new applications every week.

To answer Deputy Rabbitte's question on the current situation, several Departments have been prioritised and are working their way through the system. Regarding property, building acquisition negotiations have been completed in 13 priority locations for individual agencies or sections. Contracts have been received for another ten locations for further down the line. Suitable sites have been identified in a further 15 locations through negotiation. All have identifiable sections or Departments moving to them. Agreement has been reached with the staff side on several human resource and industrial relations issues, thus enabling progress on transfers and staff promotions. Discussions in other areas are ongoing.

As I said a few weeks ago, it obviously cannot be done this side of Christmas, as would have happened under the original programme. In the priority areas, approximately 2,500 civil servants have been identified. Most agencies and sections have agreed and, in those areas, there is no difficulty. In certain professional areas, people have stated their position and discussions are ongoing. IMPACT has put forward a negotiated paper from the staff side. The movement of staff within and between Departments is under way, and approximately 1,500 staff have already been assigned to posts to be decentralised. All Departments have produced implementation plans setting out the detailed arrangements being put in place to plan for relocation.

The plan is moving ahead at a slower pace, and we require innovative solutions to deal with certain issues. In the State agencies, the programme has not been abandoned. Some are anxious to move but desire flexibility regarding what has been set down hitherto. That must happen, and the industrial relations section of FÁS has produced its own resolutions. Other State agencies will have to do likewise. There is a hard core of civil servants now preparing to move, and those plans are going ahead.

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