Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

There has been no change in the Government's overall approach to the implementation of the decentralisation programme, including that element that provides for the relocation of departmental headquarters. As the Deputy is aware, it is proposed, in respect of the Civil Service, to move the headquarters and the full staffing complement of eight Departments and the Office of Public Works out of Dublin, leaving seven Departments with headquarters in Dublin.

It was always envisaged that Ministers with headquarters outside Dublin would be provided with a centralised suite of offices close to the Houses of the Oireachtas for a small secretariat so they could conduct business while in Dublin and when the Dáil is in session. With regard to providing support for Ministers, the decentralisation implementation group considered that while logistical arrangements needed to be put in place to ensure this did not cause any difficulties, this issue should not create any particular problem for decentralised Departments.

Officials will be required to be in Dublin on occasions to attend to matters such as briefing Ministers generally, providing support during the passage of legislation, attending meetings of Oireachtas committees and participating in interdepartmental groups. These matters will impact in different ways across Departments and will, therefore, need to be considered by them as part of their implementation planning.

I understand from the chairman of the decentralisation implementation group that following his group's round of meetings with the Secretaries General of decentralising Departments, the group is satisfied with the level of planning in each of the Departments and is confident the senior members of the Civil Service are leading the implementation of this programme in a professional and carefully planned manner.

Over the course of the next few months, advance parties will be on the way to three of the locations that will eventually be home to the headquarters of Departments. The Departments and locations in question are the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, which will go to Cavan; the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism, which will go to Killarney; and the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, which is sending an advance party to temporary accommodation in Tubbercurry prior to ultimately basing the entire Department at Knock Airport.

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