Bernard Allen (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 1: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the position with regard to the number of principal and senior development specialists with Irish Aid volunteering to take part in the Government decentralisation programme; if he will confirm that legal difficulties surround the process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25454/06]

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Three principal development specialists serve in Irish Aid headquarters in Dublin, none of whom has applied to decentralise to Limerick. There are 12 senior development specialists in Irish Aid headquarters, none of whom has applied to decentralise to Limerick. Two senior development specialists originally applied to decentralise to Limerick but subsequently withdrew their applications. There are nine development specialist posts in headquarters and five development specialists are scheduled to decentralise, of whom four commenced employment since the announcement of the decentralisation programme in December 2003 and one applied via the central applications facility.

A Labour Court case is ongoing regarding the terms and conditions under which technical grades are employed in various areas of the public service, including the specialists employed by Irish Aid. Technical staff employed by Departments and offices, including specialists and other fixed-term workers employed in Irish Aid, brought cases to the Rights Commissioner under the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003. The case, which involves complex legal issues, has been referred to the European Court of First Instance.

Some of the issues involved in the decentralisation of Irish Aid to Limerick have, therefore, a wider Civil Service dimension and must be resolved at central level. Discussions are ongoing with representatives of the specialists, their union — IMPACT — and the Department of Finance about the issues involved.

Decentralisation is a Government decision and the Government is committed to moving ahead with its implementation. At present 37 posts in the directorate are filled by officers who have signalled their intention to decentralise to Limerick. In addition, 15 officers, either from elsewhere in the Department or from other Departments, are expected to take up duty at Irish Aid headquarters in the next three months. A further six officers serving elsewhere in the Department, mostly abroad, have also expressed an interest in decentralising to Limerick. This means that a total of 58 or 47% of the 124 posts advertised on the central applications facility, CAF, will be in the Department by autumn of this year.

It is planned to have most of the senior management team for Limerick in place by the third quarter of 2006. The director general of Irish Aid has already indicated that he will decentralise to Limerick. Two counsellors are now in place in the directorate, both of whom have volunteered to go to Limerick and were recruited via the central applications facility. A third counsellor will take up duty this summer on return from a posting abroad. Two others recruited via the CAF are expected to take up duty in early July and will move to Limerick. The changeover of the senior management team, as in other grades, is being implemented in a planned and careful way so as to minimise disruption to the business of the directorate. While there are challenges ahead, management and staff are working effectively together to maintain the quality and integrity of the Irish Aid programme. I hope a greater number of specialists will, in time, volunteer to decentralise to Limerick.

Bernard Allen (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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I regret that this is the second time in a row the Minister for Foreign Affairs has not been present for Question Time. Deputies facilitated him in recent weeks by agreeing to move questions from Tuesday to Wednesday and, later, to Thursday. It is highly unsatisfactory, therefore, that there is no sign of him. It will mean that over a period of many months——

Séamus Kirk (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I ask the Deputy to concentrate on the substance of the question.

Bernard Allen (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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I wish to voice my dissatisfaction. During Question Time last month we heard a great deal of bluster and huffing and puffing from the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Conor Lenihan, as he tried to mask the disastrous position of the decentralisation of Irish Aid to Limerick. Why, on that occasion, did he not inform the House that major legal problems had arisen with regard to the decentralisation programme? He chose to make these problems public during a visit to South Africa. Will the Minister of State comment on the remarks made by the head of Dóchas who stated decentralisation will damage the efforts of Irish Aid? Does he agree that the matter is descending into a shambles, given that moneys donated to non-governmental organisations to assist their efforts in the Third World will be wasted on making trips to the decentralised office and there will be no direct link to between the NGOs and Irish Aid? Will he admit that a major problem has arisen in the decentralisation programme?

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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My senior colleague has just returned from Rome where he met the Pope and today travelled to Belfast to meet the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, with whom he and the Taoiseach will have important discussions. He has a relatively valid excuse for not being present.

Bernard Allen (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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Deputies agreed to move Question Time from Tuesday to Wednesday and then to Thursday.

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I do not want to get involved in the type of wrangling we had on the previous occasion I spoke, specifically because I stated at the time that it appeared some Opposition Deputies were not listening to or tracking my statements on this issue.

Bernard Allen (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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I track the Minister of State.

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy's question sought to ascertain the reason I did not make known to the House the legal issue that has arisen regarding specialist grades.

Bernard Allen (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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The director of Dóchas has commented since the previous Question Time.

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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If he has an opportunity to do so, the Deputy will probably confirm that I have made perfectly clear in the House, in his presence, and in my appearances before the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs that a legal impediment has arisen. There is nothing new about the statement I made in the interview I gave The Irish Times from Africa, although I note the newspaper gave it ample coverage nonetheless. I made the same comments on the specific legal issue in a number of a parliamentary replies, some of which may have been issued to the Deputy. The case taken by the specialists has been well aired in newspapers in recent months and I understand several specialists from my Department wrote to The Irish Times in connection with the legal issue they have. There is, therefore, nothing new in my recent comments which appeared in previous replies. It may be worthwhile for the Deputy to read over these again before he frames another question on this matter.

The decentralisation to Limerick is not a shambles. Perhaps the Deputy did not listen to the substance of my reply. The good news it contained is that the percentage of those intending to decentralise to Limerick has increased. The figure I provided on the previous occasion I spoke in the House was that 41% of our staff requirement of 121 posts had been met. This figure has since climbed to 47%.

Bernard Allen (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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It is five of 24 posts.

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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As I stated on the previous occasion, from the central applications facility it appears that Limerick is a popular choice among staff from outside the Department. The transfer of specialists is still held up and the Department may have to face certain aspects of this issue. This would be normal in any event as one would not move everybody at once during any office move. We will try to phase the move to ensure the least disruption to the programme and the work of those in the headquarters and office of Irish Aid.

With regard to the issue of a direct connection with non-governmental organisations, I agree that many NGOs are Dublin based. Much of the population is in Dublin and the east coast on which much of our focus has been in the past. I presume the Deputy agrees with the conceptual notion behind decentralisation.

Bernard Allen (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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Yes I do, provided it is properly managed.

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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We should be able to move offices.

Séamus Kirk (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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We have over-run the first priority question by more than two minutes.

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I apologise. Everyone accepts that the principle of moving certain types of activity out of Dublin, whether office based or otherwise, is a good one.

Bernard Allen (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
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Is the Minister of State suggesting the NGOs should also move?

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Many of them have already done so.

Séamus Kirk (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I ask the Minister of State and the Deputy to desist from——

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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As a representative from Cork, Deputy Allen will be aware that some of the best NGOs are based in his city. I say this to the credit of the Cork based NGOs which have no problem accessing my Department or its funding and are among the most effective in the country.