John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this issue for debate, which is of great local importance in east County Mayo. Since the news emerged last weekend from the office of the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Ó Cuív, that there would be a further delay in the permanent move of his Department to County Mayo, there has been confusion, consternation, conflict and uncertainty in east Mayo as to what is the real motivation of the Government in this respect. I intend to outline the questions that are being asked locally and to provide some background to this issue.

At present, 100 people are located in temporary offices in Tubbercurry. Originally, they were due to relocate to Ireland West Airport Knock but when planning permission was refused there, the destination was switched to Charlestown. The question now being asked is whether this announcement constitutes a further delaying tactic, in order that the Department will continue to rent offices in Tubbercurry, which have cost €300,000 thus far, as I learned recently from a reply to a question I tabled. Alternatively, is this an election gimmick to string along the people of both Charlestown and Kiltimagh, in the hope they might land the major prize, were they to support the Government candidates in the local elections?

The reason now being given for the further delay is that new offices in Kiltimagh are under consideration and clarity on this matter is required quickly. There is no reason this could not have been provided by now and I call on the Minister to stop playing games with this issue. I do not wish to make a political football out of it and in fairness to the Minister, Deputy Ó Cuív, he has been consistent in his replies to questions I have tabled to him on this issue over the past two years. He has stated repeatedly, after planning permission was refused at Ireland West Airport Knock, that these offices will be located in Charlestown. On foot of those answers and commitments, the people of Charlestown have had and still have a legitimate expectation that these jobs will be delivered to them.

While Kiltimagh is another town that has suffered great neglect over the years and which also deserves investment, it is reprehensible that the Government's incompetence on policies, or the lack thereof, has put two towns at each other's throats in recent days. In the past, people in Kiltimagh have sought investment for the town and have worked for the town and its environs, which is laudable. The latest episode again brings into sharp focus how the implementation of decentralisation has been poorly thought out and badly handled. The proposal to locate the Department in County Mayo, which is a rural county, was highly appropriate and should never have been subject to criticism. It was both welcomed and fully subscribed to, with staff who wished to transfer there. Nevertheless, all these other problems emerged, which incidentally was not the case in other parts of the country. More than €300,000 has been spent on renting and a further €390,000 was spent on a site at the airport for which planning permission was refused. The least the people of my county deserve is clarity and they need it quickly. I ask the Minister of State to clear up this confusion.

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