Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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Question 87: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the projected number of experienced development personnel expected to be retained by the Irish Aid office after decentralisation; the cost of replacing these specialists; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10409/07]

Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Question 94: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of development specialists seeking to decentralise; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10399/07]

Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 167: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of senior development specialists volunteering to decentralise; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10415/07]

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 87, 94 and 167 together.

Under the Government's decentralisation programme, the development co-operation directorate of the Department of Foreign Affairs will decentralise to Limerick. This is scheduled to take place during the second half of 2007 and will involve the relocation to Limerick of 124 posts. In addition and to help effect the smoothest possible transfer to Limerick, an advance party involving approximately 50 staff is scheduled to decentralise in May. Overall, personnel have either been assigned to or identified for 90 posts, or approximately 73% of the 124 posts scheduled to be decentralised.

As regards development specialists, they perform an important role in the business of Irish Aid. Specialists work alongside diplomatic and general service staff in close contact and co-operation with each business unit within the division. There are a number of issues to be worked out with regard to the specialist posts which are scheduled to move. Discussions are ongoing at a senior level with representatives of the specialists, their union, IMPACT, and the Departments of Finance and Foreign Affairs to resolve the outstanding issues. Progress has been made and I hope the discussions can be brought to a successful conclusion at an early date. Until these sensitive discussions are concluded, it would be premature to speculate on the number of specialist posts which might be decentralised to Limerick.

In addition to the development specialist posts at headquarters, there are 20 development specialists attached to embassies in our programme countries. Almost all the senior management team for Limerick is in place. In this regard, the director general of Irish Aid will decentralise to Limerick, as will seven counsellors or principal officers who are in place in the directorate. The changeover of the senior management team, as in other grades, has been implemented in a planned and careful way so as to minimise disruption to the business of the directorate.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Most of the organisations to which the Minister of State referred have their headquarters in Dublin and have argued that it would be logical to locate Irish Aid in Dublin. Now that Irish Aid is to be located in Limerick, will financial assistance be made available to organisations such as Dóchas, Concern and Trócaire if they wish to relocate to Limerick to benefit from close proximity to Irish Aid?

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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It is not the business of Irish Aid to fund the administrative decentralisation of organisations we happen to fund, whether non-governmental organisations or any other type of body. Irish Aid does not enter into this type of assistance and should not engage in such measures as it would amount to paying for administration, rather than providing financial and other assistance to those we seek to help in the developing world. If NGOs wish to remain in a collaborative and co-operative relationship with Irish Aid they can and will do so. I do not envisage the existing good relationship being worsened by the move to Limerick, just as I do not accept that the relationship between the Department of Education and Science and teachers has worsened in the 20 or 30 years since a significant proportion of its operations moved to Athlone. I do not see any issue here. Anybody who has dealt either at a political or official level with the Department of Education and Science in Athlone will say the same. There was no change in the underlying relationship between teachers and departmental staff by dint of the Department being substantially decentralised to Athlone in respect of a major part of its activities.

Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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How many posts in the development and human rights areas does the Minister of State envisage being created in the current year?

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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We received sanction for 20 additional posts as part of the last Estimates round. In the next fortnight, I will enter into a further Estimate discussion with the Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen. We were grateful that those 20 posts, 16 of which have been filled to date, were allocated specifically for audit, evaluation and monitoring of the programme. Two of those 16 are auditors hired specifically for the audit unit, while the other 14 were assigned various monitoring roles in the expanding aid programme. The reason we have been unable to hire four of the 20 staff sanctioned last year is because of the uncertainty regarding specialists.

In the coming year, the hiring and recruitment process in Irish Aid will not be influenced by a year-to-year approach. We are now, in conjunction with the Department of Finance, in the midst of a major review of the management structure of Irish Aid. We hope this will be concluded by the middle or perhaps the end of this year. This will determine the future staffing, resourcing and management structures required for the programme, whose current budget of €813 million will grow to some €1.5 billion by 2012. The management review will examine not just staffing but all aspects of the programme. The objective is to determine how best to manage a programme of this enormous size.

The staffing requirements for the expanded aid programme will be determined this year. I hope, in 2008, either I or whoever takes my place will be in a position to look at the expanded staff requirement. There is undoubtedly a requirement for additional staff across all areas of Irish Aid's operation. The key issue philosophically is whether those staff should be based in Limerick or Dublin. Irish Aid operates under the Department's remit and the political and human rights divisions are based in Dublin. The issue is whether we increase the staff load in Dublin or Limerick, or, in combination with either or both, assign additional field staff in locations such as Geneva, New York, Brussels or Rome, where the UNFAO is based.

That is the purpose of the management review and we hope it will be concluded by the autumn, if not sooner. It will determine the staff required for the expanded programme.