Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

No office space has been vacated in the city by the Department of the Taoiseach's office. I reject Deputy Bannon's contention that there was any deception. There are 40 locations with decentralised staff under the programme. There are 12 locations where sufficient progress has not been made for that to happen. As the Deputy knows, there have been particular industrial relations issues in State agencies where there has not been a tradition of cross-departmental relocation, as would be the case with the Civil Service and the issue remains a matter for industrial relations. The only deception I can detect is in the Deputy's question in that he is criticising the decentralisation programme in the House when he has also been in Westmeath extolling it and claiming he is its author in the local newspapers.

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