Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

All over the country there is evidence of the value of a well-managed decentralisation programme from Letterkenny, Sligo, Ballina to Tralee and the Taoiseach's area of Tullamore. The Taoiseach sat on the Government benches when then Minister, Charlie McCreevy, read out his Budget Statement, which referred to moving 10,000 public servants to 53 locations inside three years. That is a very long time ago. The OECD refers in its report to this being administrative relocation, with no power being transferred, merely the movement of public servants and offices to different locations. The OECD offered the critique that continuing in this way will fragment the quality of the public service being provided. The report points this out specifically and makes the point that the internal documents of the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources show that decentralisation has negatively affected the roll-out of national broadband services, which are so critical to industrial and business development around the country. The unholy mess of the way the decentralisation project is being managed is having a direct impact on this.

What is the current position on the Department of Education and Science's move to Mullingar? Has the land been bought? Has planning permission been sought? When will building start? Many senior civil servants stated they are willing to transfer and relocate in the knowledge they will be retired by the time decentralisation will become a reality. It is now seven years since the statement was made in this House that 10,000 public servants would move to 53 locations within three years.

Is it still Government policy to move State agencies where clearly there is no voluntary willingness to move? Given the nature of the job involved in some cases, it is unsuitable to move people. Does the Government still want to relocate State agencies on the basis of what was stated in the original statement by the then Minister for Finance, Mr. McCreevy? Can we have an up to date report on this? The former Minister of State, Mr. Parlon, used to be on the radio every day explaining something else which had happened and that there was a little movement here and there.

The concept of decentralisation has always been valued but only where it is well managed and well delivered and where the numbers and categories stack up with regard to voluntary movement. This has turned into a shambles. The cost referred to is €1.27 billion. Given the other problem the Taoiseach faces with a Minister for Finance who seems to be an unwilling workhorse in that Department, what is the story with regard to the timescale for the decentralisation of public offices? Is it still the Government's intention to move State agencies where the staff do not want to move?

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