Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 126: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the position regarding the decentralisation programme for his Department's agencies; the number of staff who have decentralised from a Dublin office to an office outside the greater Dublin area; the number of staff required to decentralise under his Department's agencies' plans; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2751/07]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Four of the agencies under the aegis of my Department are due to decentralise as follows: FÁS is to move 383 posts to Birr, County Offaly; Enterprise Ireland is to move 292 posts to Shannon; the Health and Safety Authority is to move 110 posts to Thomastown, County Kilkenny, and the National Standards Authority of Ireland is to move 132 posts to Arklow, County Wicklow.

My Department continues to provide advice and support to each of the four agencies in furthering their decentralisation programmes and a dedicated agency decentralisation committee exists to drive the process forward. In addition, I am satisfied that all agencies are fully engaged in the process and are taking all relevant steps to advance their decentralisation plans. In outlining the current agency position on decentralisation, it must be remembered that the central applications facility, CAF, data are based on priority first preference applications.

Under the Government's decentralisation programme, FÁS is due to transfer its head office, including some 383 posts, to Birr, County Offaly, by 2009. Currently, two FÁS staff members are physically located in Birr and another staff member has agreed to relocate, bringing the total to three. The staff members in question are currently situated in rented accommodation in the Birr Technology Centre. It is anticipated that between 40 and 50 staff will be located in Birr by the end of the year. Staff located in Birr will consist of volunteers and new recruits who continue to have the decentralisation clause in their contracts.

To date, a total of 102 FÁS staff have expressed an interest in relocating to Birr, broken down as follows: a total of 26 FÁS staff have volunteered to move, outside of CAF; six FÁS staff have signed up through the CAF; 34 new entrants have signed contracts with the relocation clause; and 36 promoted staff have signed contracts with the relocation clause. However, following industrial action these cases are being examined by the parties and the matter has been referred to the Labour Court.

Enterprise Ireland is to move 292 posts to Shannon under the decentralisation programme. The central applications facility indicates that 19 Enterprise Ireland staff have applied for decentralisation to Enterprise Ireland in Shannon. Of these, 15 are based within, and four are based outside, Dublin. The number of applications received from within the Civil Service and public service, including my Department, amounts to 33, giving a total of 52 people.

While working closely with the Office of Public Works, Enterprise Ireland has identified, but not yet acquired, a preferred site for the construction of a new headquarters building in Shannon, namely, a 13 acre site owned by Shannon Development. In co-operation with Shannon Development and the OPW, the site was valued and a feasibility study carried out. The site occupies a prime position in Shannon and is considered suitable for a major landmark building or civic structure.

Enterprise Ireland's national regional development headquarters will be located in Shannon town, as well as a new unit to work with the city and county enterprises boards. A senior manager has been appointed as head of regions and entrepreneurship and will guide the transition and the establishment of Enterprise Ireland's presence in the mid-west region.

Currently, the Health and Safety Authority has a sanctioned staffing complement of 185 sanctioned posts, of which 110 are due to move to Thomastown, County Kilkenny. To date a total of 62 people have expressed an interest through the central applications facility to transfer to Thomastown.

The authority has been advised by the Office of Public Works that as the Thomastown site procurement process is in its final stages, the current estimated timeline for availability for occupancy is late 2008 or early 2009. In advance of decentralising to Thomastown, in August 2006 the authority established an interim office in Kilkenny city. A total of 15 staff, including staff recruited for the registration, evaluation and authorisation of chemicals, REACH strategy, have relocated recently to that office in advance of moving to Thomastown. This number will increase to 18 by March 2007. In addition, future staff to be recruited for the REACH strategy will also be based in Thomastown. All staff that move in the interim to the Kilkenny office will transfer to Thomastown when the premises there are completed.

The authority established an interim office in Kilkenny city in August 2006 and 15 staff have relocated to that office in anticipation of moving to Thomastown.

Finally, the National Standards Authority of Ireland, with a total of 132 staff, is to be relocated to Arklow. The latest available CAF figures show a total of 107 first preference priority applications for Arklow from the wider public sector subject to the decentralisation programme. The number of staff in NSAI who have, to date, applied for decentralisation is 11. The total number required to be decentralised is 132 and none has been decentralised to date. The NSAI is liaising with the OPW to identify office accommodation in the Arklow area. The current NSAI implementation plan anticipates a target date of April 2009 as the completion date of its decentralisation programme. However, this is dependent on the resolution of matters at central level.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I thank the Minister for his reply. When I asked this question on 10 October 2006, I was told a total of only two people from the aforementioned four bodies had decentralised. If I understand correctly the Minister's comprehensive reply in respect of the Health and Safety Authority, the original figure of 12 people who had moved to Kilkenny has increased to 15. Am I correct in deducing that between 10 October and 31 January, a net sum of three additional people has moved to temporary accommodation? The total number of staff scheduled for decentralisation on 10 October was 917. Of that, a grand total of 18 moved and 899 remain. This has happened after many people expressed interest, many plans were put in place, promises were explored and many contracts were negotiated. No doubt many people got inside tracks on where and when things might happen with decentralisation. Since the announcement in the 2004 budget, only 18 people have moved and they are currently housed in temporary accommodation. Is this a fair understanding of what the Minister has achieved in the past two and a half years?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I have laid out in detail for the House the number of staff that each agency plans to decentralise.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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That is the 917 staff.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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It is an open secret that the agency side of the equation has not been as rapid as the normal decentralisation programmes with civil servants. For example, my Department has been well subscribed in terms of its move to Carlow and it is going well.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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My question refers to the agencies.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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We are making progress on the agencies in terms of the issues identified. Under the timelines of 2008 and 2009, FÁS will have a significant presence in Offaly, Enterprise Ireland will have a significant presence in Shannon and likewise with the Health and Safety Authority in Thomastown. There have been some difficulties with specialist posts in the NSAI that require further resolution.

While there have been delays in progressing the programme, our commitment to decentralisation is total. We want it to happen and are anxious that it does so because of the benefit it will bring to the regions concerned. We hope this policy has support across the House.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Will the Minister confirm that people in any of the specialist agencies, who are not civil servants, will not be forced to decentralise if they do not wish to? This was not envisaged at the time when Mr. McCreevy introduced the raid on decentralisation through the budget process. What is the Minister's view on what the implications will be for the loss of institutional memory and expertise in the agencies under his responsibility?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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We have experienced this with earlier decentralisation programmes.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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No we did not. Those were mostly civil servants.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I can recall when the Central Statistics Office was transferred to Cork and the big issue was the one the Deputy has just raised.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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They were civil servants.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The decentralisation eventually took place, there was no loss of institutional memory or expertise and people grew and developed. We can sometimes overstate that problem.

In the context of FÁS and the referral to the Labour Court, we have clarified the industrial relations context in which people will move.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Is it voluntary?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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We are working with the agencies to facilitate voluntary moves to the various regions.