Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I recall the words of the late James Dillon, a former Minister for Agriculture, at the opening of the Michael Davitt House complex in Castlebar in the late 1970s. Coming from the land of Michael Davitt to the Davitt House complex, it was one of the first decentralised offices. The late Micheál Ó Moráin, who was a Minister in several Fianna Fáil Governments, had promised it. My late father delivered it in the coalition Government of 1973-77. His words on that day were prophetic about the necessity to have Government involve itself to the extent where people could be facilitated by being able to call into offices and deal with their business in a confidential and courteous manner.

I am seeking clarification from the Minister because, while there are some rumours floating around, some of the facts may or may not be correct. I require clarification as to what the Department's plans are regarding decentralisation or re-centralisation as has happened.

I understand that the agriculture section of Davitt House in Castlebar paid out €500 million in grants last year, not just for County Mayo but for the country as a whole. The section was in charge of the suckler cow scheme, the ewe premium, the area-based scheme and the extensification scheme. A sum of €130 million was paid out under the suckler cow scheme, €90 for the ewe premium, €230 million for the area-based scheme and €95 for the extensification scheme. These are approximate figures. However, due to changes in the Common Agricultural Policy, this body of work is not now as significant as it used to be, so the work is leaving that section of Davitt House. With the advent of the new EU system, all the payments to which I have referred will be paid out in a single payment. It is expected that this will be done from Port Laoise. So if these payments will no longer apply, while there are still some outstanding payments to be made, they will not be made from Davitt House in future. That means that while there is still some work going on for the national reserve under the single payment scheme in Castlebar, when these questions are completed, all of that is expected to be transferred to Port Laoise. That leaves approximately 70 staff in the agriculture section, including principal officers, HEOs, clerical officers and clerical assistants.

What is the plan in regard to that section of the Department? There was serious expenditure there in recent years and over the past 30 years people have become used to working in those very fine facilities. I understand the area aid section of the Department of Agriculture and Food in Kildare Street, Dublin, is also to go to Port Laoise. In that section there are approximately 60 to 70 staff but the work is somewhat similar to what was being done in Davitt House for many years. Therefore, that body of work could be transferred from Kildare Street to the Davitt House complex and be facilitated in that fashion. Otherwise, as I understand there is no building yet in Portlaoise, this matter could drag on for a long time. When the work in Davitt House ceases, what is in store for the approximately 70 staff there? Will any of them be transferred to another location? What are the prospects for them being absorbed into other Departments in the Davitt House complex, such as Revenue or Coillte? In that sense, the clarification I request from the Minister will be very important to people who have lived in Mayo and worked in the Davitt House complex in Castlebar for quite some time. Families are involved, with mortgages and other commitments.

Over the years, the agriculture section in Davitt House provided thousands of farmers with a convenient service. Perhaps the Minister will spell out what the future will be for the agriculture sector of the Davitt House complex. When the body of work it is currently doing ceases to exist, what work will it be involved in? Is it proposed that the area aid work currently being done in Kildare Street will be transferred to the Davitt House complex in Castlebar? Perhaps the Minister will set out what the plan is and indicate the timescale. I would like reassurance from the Minister with particular reference to staff that there will be no major disruption to their work in the area.

When this proposal is implemented and that body of work ceases, it will end 30 years of very valuable agricultural service. This was one of the first offices in the country to be decentralised from Dublin to the land of Davitt, the land which was so important to people, so intrinsic a part of the lives of farming people over those years. I would not like to see it ended and no future work done. Perhaps the Minister will clarify that.

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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Gabhaim buíochas don Teachta as deis a thabhairt dom labhairt faoi seo.

The mid-term review of the Common Agricultural Policy introduced the most significant agricultural reform since its establishment. The decision of the Luxembourg Council to break the link between direct payments and production, known as decoupling, has changed the fundamental nature of EU supports for the farm sector and has led directly to the introduction of the single payment scheme.

The mid-term review places a significant challenge on my Department to realign functions and processes to effectively implement the single payment regime and the linked cross-compliance inspections while at the same time ensuring that customer service standards are not adversely affected, effective administration and corporate governance is maintained and human resource issues are addressed appropriately. Once necessary operational changes to schemes and processes have been agreed, work will proceed on implementing the staff movements and structural changes to effectively implement the single payment scheme.

Payments under the scheme will be conditional on farmers' compliance with a total of 18 EU directives on the environment, identification and registration of animals, animal welfare and animal, plant and public health. Some of the staff currently employed in Castlebar are undertaking the important work of planning for the implementation of these cross-compliance requirements under the single payment scheme. The final decision on the location of the work of co-ordinating and controlling the implementation of the cross-compliance measures will be taken when these plans are finalised and the extent of the ongoing work that will be involved as well as the staff numbers and grades required to carry out the work has been determined.

This decision will also be influenced by the planning that is ongoing in relation to the operation of the single payment scheme itself from our Portlaoise office and the decisions that are being taken on the decentralisation of my Department's HQ to that town under the Government's wider decentralisation programme. In regard to the latter, my Department is in the process of preparing a further iteration of our decentralisation implementation plan which has to be submitted to the decentralisation implementation group by 14 February next. That plan will naturally have to take into account the changes coming about as a result of the mid-term review and the single payment scheme.

In addition, staff will over the coming months be available in my Department's offices in Port Laoise on the cessation of the special beef and slaughter premia schemes which were operated from there as part of the old direct payments regime. The area aid division of my Department is currently based in Hume House, Ballsbridge, and it is planned that the area aid work will transfer to those staff in Port Laoise in late spring and early summer of this year. Discussions are ongoing with staff, representative associations and the Department of Finance regarding the reassignment of the surplus staff in Hume House.

Following the introduction of the single payment scheme and the mid-term review, there will be an inevitable requirement for a reduction in overall staff numbers working in the relevant areas. Local office livestock staff around the country will also be affected. It is not possible at this stage to predict fully all the staff changes that will result from the reallocation of work. A number of steering groups in my Department are examining all the different complex issues involved and these groups will continue to plan and monitor the situation throughout the change-over. However, the method of managing this change process in terms of all the various work and staff movements will include setting down the basic principles to apply in the context of the redeployment of staff which will be discussed with the relevant unions and staff associations. The objective will be to put in place a system that is fair and realisable.

While it is understood that the reorganisation of the Department due the implementation of the single payment scheme will result in a major rebalancing of work as well as reduced staffing levels, it will be mid-2005 before the detailed effects are known.

I fully recognise that this period of change is causing legitimate concern and uncertainty for staff. The key objective of my Department during this change period is to work in conjunction with staff, their unions and staff associations and to minimise the potential for disruption to staff and departmental operations so as to achieve the successful reorganisation of the Department with as smooth a transition as possible to the new structure.

It will be the middle of this year before I have an overall plan and it is my intention to keep staff informed and involved in discussions. As a woman with close associations with that part of the country, I am acutely aware of the concerns expressed. Uncertainty is creating distress for some of the staff. I hope we will have an action plan so that people will know exactly what is going on and to facilitate them in the best possible way.