David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to address the matter and I hope he will address it sympathetically.

In his budget statement in December, the Minister for Finance announced the decentralisation of part of the Department of Agriculture and Food from Cork city to Macroom. I understand the rationale behind decentralisation was to decentralise posts from Dublin. This is one of the few cases where civil servants based outside Dublin will be moved to another area.

As the Minister of State knows, Cork is a big county and there already is a Department of Agriculture and Food office in Clonakilty. My constituency is east of the city and includes towns like Youghal, Midleton, Michelstown, Cobh and Fermoy. Farmers from this area currently travel to Cork city to conduct business with the Department. While there are problems with parking near the office on the South Mall, they get around this.

Under the decentralisation programme, staff working in the office on the South Mall will move to Macroom. I am sure the Minister of State will sympathise with farmers from Youghal who will now have to pass Cork city in order to get to Macroom to conduct business. This does not improve the service for farmers. Surely improving the service to customers, as they are now termed, is what the Department should be concerned with. I ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food to re-examine this decision. While I am not saying there should not be an office in Macroom, there should be an office on the eastern or northern periphery of the city that would be easily accessible to farmers from east and north Cork. A number of well-attended meetings have been held and this is what farmers have called for.

The office on the South Mall serves two DVO areas. The Cork north district veterinary area has 6,032 herds while the Cork central district veterinary area has 2,357 herds. Therefore, more than 8,000 herds will be affected by this move. As of last November, there were 280 restricted TB herds for the Cork northeast area and 349 for the Cork southwest area.

This is crucial for farming in Cork. It does not make sense to move the offices to Macroom and require farmers to travel from Youghal, through Cork city and on to Macroom. Farmers from Youghal have no connection with Macroom. Macroom is a lovely town and is a great place and should have an office that serves mid-Cork. However, east and north Cork should not be discommoded in the way proposed by the Minister.

While I have raised this issue on a number of occasions with the Minister by way of parliamentary question, he did not give me great solace in his responses. He should look at this again. I hope the Minister of State will be able to tell me that this will be re-examined. While I am aware of the decentralisation implementation committee, I am not sure of its role. I understand the OPW must locate buildings and premises. The Minister for Finance has made a decision and I am not sure if it can be reversed at this stage. Although farmers are social partners, I am told they were not consulted about this issue and they are somewhat upset about this.

I hope the Minister of State can give me good news on this. The office in question is a service office and must be accessible and within easy reach of the farmers it serves. Farmers cannot afford the time to drive all the way to Macroom and back. The office could be located on the outskirts of the city.

Noel Treacy (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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The Government's decision on the decentralisation of 10,300 staff from Departments and the Office of Public Works includes plans to decentralise 70 staff from Cork city to Macroom. Since the decision was taken, the Department has established an implementation committee to oversee all aspects of decentralisation. If we are to realise the benefits of decentralisation it is clear that implementing this ambitious programme will require careful planning and organisation while minimising the disruption to the work of the Department during the transition period. Officials from the Department have been involved in discussions with the Department of Finance, the OPW and the central implementation committee — chaired by Mr. Phil Flynn — on how best to progress the matter. Contacts have also been established with the relevant local authorities. These contacts have been productive and will be maintained and deepened in the months ahead.

The benefits of decentralisation are numerous and will result in a change of culture in policy formation and will provide career prospects for those being transferred. Benefits for those involved include reduced commuting time and lower house prices.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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The Minister of State is not being serious.

Noel Treacy (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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On a wider scale, the creation of jobs and the movement of families to the 53 locations chosen for decentralisation will bring considerable economic benefit to those communities and a greater element of service delivery at local level. In this context, we will keep in mind the issue of providing the best possible quality of service to the Department's customers when formulating plans for implementing the overall decentralisation programme. This is a topic my colleague, the Minister for Agriculture and Food, Deputy Walsh, has discussed with the Minister for Finance and which will be kept in mind as the process progresses. The Department will comply with the Government time scale for completion of the relocation and the House will be kept advised of relevant developments.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Surely the Minister of State did not write this response.

Noel Treacy (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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It is the current status of the great move from Dublin to the regions. It will deliver real service to people across Cork.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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The Minister did not address the issue. It is a farce.