Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

I recall that when the then Minister for Finance, former Deputy McCreevy, announced the decentralisation scheme, he told us it was designed to reduce the Dublin mindset in the running of the country, ease traffic in Dublin, reduce house prices and bring prosperity and plenty to the 50 places to which public servants would be sent. He said that 10,000 people would be moving to various places outside Dublin. I understand from the Taoiseach's reply that one year after the deadline, only 1,000 people have actually moved out of Dublin. The Taoiseach is now trying to redefine the whole purpose of the exercise. The numbers of decentralised staff will now include anybody who is moving from one place to another around the country. One thousand of these have already been included.

The last time we heard a cost for this exercise, it was put at €900 million. At a time when we are short of money in many public service areas — there are problems with the health service and with schools, and there are not enough gardaí on the streets in many areas — can the Taoiseach remind us why we are spending €900 million on a decentralisation project under which only 1,000 of the 10,000 people who were supposed to move out of Dublin have done so? What is the benefit to the taxpayer of this exercise? In light of the experience of the past three or four years, what is the benefit of the scheme?

Regarding the voluntary aspect of decentralisation, over the past three or four years every advertisement for a promotion competition in the public service has carried a note at the bottom stating that the successful applicant must be prepared to move to a decentralised location. As I understand it, the Labour Court has now shot that down by stating that promotional opportunities cannot be linked to decentralisation. What is the policy now in respect of the advertisement of promotion competitions? Has the connection with decentralisation been removed?

The Taoiseach mentioned Clonakilty. BIM, which is located in my constituency, is to be decentralised to that area. Whenever I meet members of the BIM staff while doing my grocery shopping in the shopping centre, they ask me about this matter.

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