Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I do not have that level of detailed information, and it would be best to ask the Department of Finance. I am just giving the Deputy the information I have. Of the 3,180 staff who have been unable to move to various locations across the country, some 2,200 have been to various locations which are not the gateway and hub towns. The remaining 900 have relocated to gateways and hubs, and have increased the total number of civil servants in non-commercial State-sponsored bodies located in those gateway and hub locations outside Dublin. That figure has now moved to 13,300. Therefore, 3,180 posts have been allocated to almost 40 locations. Full completion of the projects under way and approved will result in approximately 4,400 moves overall.

That is the only information I have about the benefit from moves, efficiency and so on. However, the Western Development Commission did a study in 2009 which found the economic impact of the relocation of public sector jobs to the western region had been positive and significant. The report said public sector employees had taken up opportunities to relocate there for quality of life issues, in particular the many benefits realised by easier commuting to work. For those who had moved from Dublin, the western region offered many advantages, such as cost savings, lower living costs and house prices, as well as benefits from living within close communities, being closer to families and living in rural locations. The impacts were significant in all cases.

A wide range of factors has been taken into account and balanced against each other in the selection of Departments or agencies for decentralisation. The national spatial strategy envisaged that county towns and other medium-sized towns, particularly those strategically placed in a regional context, would have roles to play in acting as so-called local capitals. They would allow for the development of their service functions and provide opportunities for a diversified employment base and productivity growth, both in the towns and in the related smaller villages and rural areas.

Virtually all the locations included in the decentralisation programme are explicitly mentioned in section 4 of the national spatial strategy, which outlines how each region will participate in the strategy. The relocation of public service employment to towns such as these underpins the important role which many must continue to play into the future. That is as much information as I can give the Deputy.

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