Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

The previous Government's decision on decentralisation provided for the transfer of the Department's Dublin-based Civil Service staff, together with a number of military personnel, to Newbridge, County Kildare and the decentralisation of the Defence Forces headquarters to the Curragh. Decentralisation to Newbridge took place in November 2010. There are now approximately 170 civil servants and 50 military personnel located there. The move to Newbridge sees all civil branches of the Department located either in Newbridge or Renmore, County Galway. The Chief of Staff, Deputy Chiefs of Staff, the director of strategic planning and other relevant military staff have also relocated as planned.

Defence Forces headquarters is distributed between five locations. Unfortunately, the level of priority afforded to the Defence Forces by the previous Government did not ensure Defence Forces headquarters was centralised at the same time, or in advance of the Department of Defence moving to Newbridge. I would have thought it was of greater importance to centralise Defence Forces headquarters than the civil side of the Department of Defence. I find the prioritisation in that approach to an important issue very strange. The original decision on decentralisation provided for two buildings, one in the Curragh and one in Newbridge. The civil and military elements of the Department were to be accommodated between the two buildings. However, the previous Government decided to defer proceeding with decentralising Defence Forces headquarters to the Curragh.

It is clearly preferable to have all of the key managers, both civil and military, working in close proximity. The Department is actively pursuing options to address this situation. The use of existing departmental property in the Curragh is being considered as an alternative to a new building. Discussions in this regard are ongoing with the Office of Public Works. Only a week or so ago I visited the Curragh to examine the possible site and the nature of the works that might be necessary to provide the centralised headquarters that should have been put in place some years ago.

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