Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

It is not because we need to know how much double counting is involved. The Taoiseach stated that if somebody moves from Limerick to Wexford, that is a move according to plan. However, if there is a corresponding move by somebody from Wexford back to Limerick or from somewhere else to Limerick to fill the vacancy that arises, that is double counting. My understanding of the original plan for decentralisation was to move about one third of the Civil Service out of Dublin. If that is the case we need to have some measure as to how successful or otherwise that plan was. The original figure for decentralisation out of Dublin was 10,922. How much of that decentralisation has occurred? Also, will the Taoiseach say whether any assessment has been made on the impact of the efficiency of Departments as a result of decentralisation?

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