John Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael)

In July 2006, 37 staff from the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs moved to new advance offices in Tubbercurry, County Sligo. The plan was that the staff would be based there temporarily pending construction of a new headquarters at Knock Airport in County Mayo. Later other sections of the Department transferred to Tubbercurry. For the past six years the staff in question have been working effectively at the Tubbercurry location and, by all accounts, have settled into a successful and happy lifestyle.

The former Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Ó Cuív, for whom I have tremendous respect and who was committed to rural regeneration during his time as Minister, had originally planned for the relocation of the Department to Knock Airport. This move never happened, as the proposed office building at Knock Airport did not receive planning permission. It was then proposed that the staff would move to Charlestown. When that option was rejected, a facility in Kiltimagh was examined, but it has now been rejected. It is clear that there are no suitable premises at Knock Airport and that the premises identified in Charlestown and Kiltimagh have been established as being unsuitable. Planning for an eventual move by staff to a County Mayo location is no longer feasible or practical.

There is now an air of unreality about the commitment of the former Minister to move staff to County Mayo. I accept that he made his original commitment in good faith; however, six years on, it is time for the current Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Deputy Pat Carey, to re-evaluate the situation. The staff working and living in Tubbercurry are uncertain about their long-term work and living locations. All of the staff who transferred to Tubbercurry are well settled into the local community and do not wish to uproot and move again. For their part, the local Tubbercurry community has made them welcome and did everything possible to ensure the new arrivals were integrated smoothly. Tubbercurry and the wider south Sligo area have benefited economically and socially from the arrival of the departmental staff. In addition, some new jobs have been created in business support and related activities.

I fully support the broad decentralisation programme. The Western Development Commission carried out a study of the beneficial impact of decentralised offices in various parts of the country, particularly the west, and noted that the economic impact of the relocation of jobs to the western region had been positive and significant.

Public sector employees have taken up opportunities to relocate to the western region for quality of life reasons. I refer to the many benefits realised by easier commuting to work. The western region offers many advantages, some of which we heard yesterday in Dáil Éireann, in terms of cost savings and benefits from living in a close community, being closer to family and living in a rural location. Eventually the western rail track will come to Tubbercurry.

The relocation of Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs public sector jobs to Tubbercurry brought major benefits to south Sligo. Will the Minister confirm that staff will remain in Tubbercurry, and will he confirm that any necessary work to ensure the best working conditions for staff will be carried out?

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