Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

The factual position is that the decentralisation programme has been an unmitigated success for those who have decentralised in terms of quality of life, work environment and a range of issues, including the efficiency with which they deliver services. If Deputy Gilmore can identify any decentralised office in which there has been a reduction in the provision of service to the public as a result of decentralisation, I would like to hear about it. In fact, the contrary is the case because we are providing these services in a more localised environment, services which were less accessible to people in the regions than is now the case. The Deputy does not have the evidence to back up the idea that people will proceed with the decentralisation programme unwittingly, or in the absence of proper business efficacy and organisation, because all the decentralised offices that have been completed are successful.

The programme is voluntary for State agencies. Considerable industrial relations issues arose and a specific case was taken with regard to FÁS. When Deputy Gilmore raised this issue before I asked everyone to sit down, work out and scope the issues, to see what can and cannot be done. Until that scoping is done and interaction takes place, we are being unfair on the 1,000 people from State agencies whose applications are in the central applications facility and who have indicated a willingness to relocate. We must consider the future of the organisation, those who do not wish to relocate and cannot and will not be forced to relocate, and those who wish to relocate. The problem is that we are getting no engagement. Some 20% of the total programme relates to State agencies. We have seen many examples of success in respect of decentralisation of various aspects of Departments. There is no gainsaying in continuing to denigrate the programme as Deputy Gilmore and others do because the evidence does not stack up.

We will continue to seek to implement the programme in a prudent and proper way, working in partnership with staff organisations and trade unions, as has been the case up to now. We seek to build on the success of decentralisation in the past, not the reputed failure Deputy Gilmore tries to attribute to it.

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