John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue and I will respond this afternoon on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Ó Cuív. Under the decentralisation programme, it is been agreed that the headquarters of the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs will relocate to Charlestown, County Mayo. The decentralisation programme is well advanced in the Department and significant progress has been made to date in fulfilling the Department's commitments on the programme. From a total of 140 staff due to decentralise, 100 staff now have relocated to an interim temporary location at Tubbercurry, County Sligo, where two properties are being rented to accommodate the staff concerned.

I can confirm that a significant number of business units of the Department, including the full rural, community and financial business units now are operating successfully at that temporary decentralised location. As indicated previously, the eventual destination identified by the Government for the Department is Charlestown, County Mayo, and the Office of Public Works has been engaged in the process of selecting and purchasing an appropriate site in Charlestown to build a permanent headquarters for the Department. It should be noted the Office of Public Works is liaising at present with the relevant authorities in respect of a particular site in Charlestown, which it has identified as being suitable for the Department's headquarters.

I should add that the Department of Finance was recently approached by a community development organisation from Kiltimagh, County Mayo, in respect of a turnkey potential property for the headquarters of the Department in Kiltimagh. On foot of this approach, the Office of Public Works is currently examining the property in question to ascertain its suitability as accommodation for the staff of the Department and its suitability to act as a departmental headquarters. I emphasise this is a sensible and prudent response to an approach which has been made to the Government.

The position therefore is that the Office of Public Works is currently examining the options outlined previously, in consultation with the Departments of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs and Finance and will advise the Government as to the options available, taking financial and other considerations into account.

See this speech in context