Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton, for taking this Topical Issue. The announcement that the offices of the Department of Social Protection in Ballybay are to be relocated elsewhere in the county has been a devastating blow to the morale of the people of Ballybay and the economy of this mid-Monaghan town and its hinterland. As voices across Government and Opposition parties and representatives of the constituency, we are asking the Minister to re-explore the possible alternatives in Ballybay. My colleagues and I have outlined specific alternatives to the Minister of State, Deputy Kevin Humphreys. I have also discussed the matter with the Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works and continued to lobby on this matter, as we have done, individually and collectively, for a considerable period. We believe it is important that there be an understanding of the criteria being used by the Office of Public Works to evaluate alternative premises. Is the Minister in a position to offer us the detail of the specifications employed by the OPW in carrying out this evaluation? Will she indicate if she is in a position to invest in a building upgrade or development of some of the alternative sites that have been identified and on which we have lobbied for a considerable period? It is important that we look to smaller towns, particularly in rural Ireland, that are suffering greatly as a result of the economic downturn to ensure there is bias in favour of retaining, at the very least, what they have and have held for some considerable time, not only through the presence of the Department of Social Protection but formerly the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. This issue is very important and I join my colleagues, Deputies Seán Conlan and Brendan Smith, in urging the Minister to reconsider.

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