Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

With regard to relocations pertaining to any area of my Department under the programme, there are 31 staff with applications in the Central Applications Facility who are available to relocate, subject to the usual criteria. There have been a number of reports. The Decentralisation Implementation Group has provided a series of reports updating the information on the progress being made, the issues that arise and the constraints and difficulties that have been encountered. As the Deputy is aware, industrial relations issues arose that deferred the speedy implementation of the programme. It was always a voluntary programme and issues must be dealt with as they arise.

As a result of the deteriorating financial situation generally in the country, a review was announced in terms of proceeding with the existing phase involving 4,000 relocations and considering the situation thereafter. That review, to be conducted by the Department of Finance, will give us an opportunity in 2011 to determine the position at that stage.

The original programme was highly ambitious and included State agencies. Industrial relations problems arose but the State agency issues have been deferred until the review takes place. There are many things happening.

When talking about the benefits of the programme, one should note decentralisation can provide good-quality jobs for the regions. Existing civil servants who wish to leave Dublin are facilitated to do so if they want to do so for career or other reasons. There is a wider range of work and career opportunities for civil servants already working outside Dublin as a result of the programme. Thus, there is greater choice and greater opportunities for promotion. Present and future civil servants who aspire to senior management positions will no longer have to migrate necessarily to the capital although many will continue to do so.

The dispersal of jobs has obvious advantages in terms of securing a better regional balance. It helps the economic and social development of chosen centres and their catchment areas and provides a further boost in the provision of infrastructure in the regions. It can also attract other investments and services and act as an incentive to entrepreneurs to develop businesses in the regions, thus creating a positive domino effect. Public service decentralisation offers some distinct benefits that other similarly sized investment projects might not deliver, such as the potential to become a national policy-making location.

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