Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton, for taking this Topical Issue. The announcement that the offices of the Department of Social Protection in Ballybay are to be relocated elsewhere in the county has been a devastating blow to the morale of the people of Ballybay and the economy of this mid-Monaghan town and its hinterland. As voices across Government and Opposition parties and representatives of the constituency, we are asking the Minister to re-explore the possible alternatives in Ballybay. My colleagues and I have outlined specific alternatives to the Minister of State, Deputy Kevin Humphreys. I have also discussed the matter with the Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works and continued to lobby on this matter, as we have done, individually and collectively, for a considerable period. We believe it is important that there be an understanding of the criteria being used by the Office of Public Works to evaluate alternative premises. Is the Minister in a position to offer us the detail of the specifications employed by the OPW in carrying out this evaluation? Will she indicate if she is in a position to invest in a building upgrade or development of some of the alternative sites that have been identified and on which we have lobbied for a considerable period? It is important that we look to smaller towns, particularly in rural Ireland, that are suffering greatly as a result of the economic downturn to ensure there is bias in favour of retaining, at the very least, what they have and have held for some considerable time, not only through the presence of the Department of Social Protection but formerly the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. This issue is very important and I join my colleagues, Deputies Seán Conlan and Brendan Smith, in urging the Minister to reconsider.

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for giving me the opportunity to raise this very important issue. I appreciate the presence of the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton, in the House to reply.

As the Minister will be aware from written correspondence with her last September and from parliamentary questions tabled in the House, with others, I have been highlighting the need for retention of the offices of the Department of Social Protection in Ballybay. The employment of more than 30 people in the Department's offices in the town is critical. The loss of this employment would be a devastating blow to a relatively small town in which there are limited employment opportunities.

Some months ago we met the Minister of State at the Department of Social Protection, Deputy Kevin Humphreys, at which time we outlined to him and his officials the need for the retention of the Department's offices in Ballybay. A senior council official stated the county council and the local authority would do everything possible to facilitate the Department in ensuring its accommodation requirements were met in Ballybay. We have all seen the correspondence to the Office of Public Works and the Department from owners who are willing to upgrade buildings to meet the relevant specifications of the Department in the context of its office accommodation.

As stated by Deputy Seán Conlan, Ballybay is located in the centre of County Monaghan. This ensures easy access to services for the people of the county. As Oireachtas Members, we met on a number occasions councillors in the Clones-Ballybay municipal district and representatives of various development associations in the Ballybay area. We also met former town councillors in Ballybay. They all outlined strongly and passionately the need for the retention of the Department's offices and current complement of staff in Ballybay. I re-emphasise that a number of possible accommodation options are available in Ballybay, the owners of which premises are willing to upgrade them to meet the OPW's specifications and requirements laid down by the Department.

I join my colleagues in highlighting for the Minister the need for the retention of the Department's offices in Ballybay and the current complement of staff.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I acknowledge the concerns of the Deputies about the retention of the Department's offices in Ballybay.

Twenty nine staff occupying two adjoining buildings on Main Street, Ballybay, County Monaghan were redeployed from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to the Department of Social Protection in July 2012. The staff are engaged in the processing of the public services card, PSC, which is intended to enable individuals to gain access to public services more efficiently and with the minimum of duplication of effort, while at the same time preserving their privacy to the maximum extent possible. The card has been designed to replace others within the public sector such as the free travel pass and the social services card of my Department and to make it easy for providers of public services to verify the identity of customers.

The PSC project is a key initiative under the public service reform plan, with the aim of expanding the use of the public services card to cover a greater range of services. PSC registration is being expanded to encompass all departmental scheme customers and, over time, the adult population of Ireland. PSC operations in Ballybay have been expanded to include eight additional temporary staff. The two current buildings are in separate ownership. Unfortunately, they are in poor condition and not considered appropriate for the existing business processes or to accommodate the recently expanded or future operational requirements.

A brief of requirements was sent to the OPW which has been working to identify alternative locations to which the functions could be relocated. The OPW has advised me that it has investigated all of the options in Ballybay and inspected a number of properties with a view to adapting a number of buildings to meet the requirements of the Department of Social Protection. The position is that a significant investment would be required to bring the proposed properties up to modern standards. In addition, other technical surveys and reports, planning permission, fire certification and physical works would take approximately one year to complete. Unfortunately, this timeframe is not commensurate with the Department's business requirements and it has been decided that the properties on offer in Ballybay cannot meet requirements, both in terms of cost and time. In that context, a decision has been made to move the current facilities some nine miles to Monaghan town.

The preferred location in Monaghan town is suitable for the services currently located in Ballybay. In addition, the location can also facilitate the Department's requirement to establish a public office for the purposes of issuing public service cards to County Monaghan residents.

Monaghan is the only county which does not have a customer facing public services card office. The Office of the Chief State Solicitor is progressing the legal documents for the lease and detailed designs for the fit-out of the preferred location in Monaghan town are progressing.

I am sorry I do not have a more amenable reply for the Deputies.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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I share the fear of my colleagues that we are tilting at windmills. The Minister's reply is of the same construct as the responses we have received for a period of months. I can only ask her whether there is any midway position that can be arrived at. Is there anything else she, in her position as Minister with responsibility for the Department of Social Protection, can do to demonstrate support and good will towards the sustenance of economic life in small town rural Ireland? The thrust seems to be towards the larger centres, with more and more centralisation. There is little evidence across a huge swathe of the country of cross-departmental interest in sustaining, let alone developing, economic activity in many locations similar to Ballybay. Is there any midway position the Minister could consider that would not see the operation in its entirety transfer? Is there any other role the Minister can see, from within her Department or in conjunction with colleagues, that might in some way help to ease the significant blow this represents and show some semblance of good will towards a community that is already struggling greatly to survive in these difficult times?

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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As other colleagues said, the Minister's reply is most disappointing. Ballybay will suffer because of poor employment opportunities in the town. That more than 30 people are employed there in the public service is of tremendous value to the town and the wider catchment area. The Minister's reply suggests the accommodation available would not meet the Department's requirements both in terms of cost and time. It is essential to highlight again our understanding from the meetings we attended that the owners of all of the properties that were in the frame for consideration were, understandably, prepared to upgrade their accommodation at their own expense. However, there does not seem to have been any meaningful engagement with these property owners. I do not know any of the property owners and have no interest in any particular applicant being successful. However, it has been brought to our attention that one of the properties available is a fine new enterprise centre that was developed through community activity and put in place through State funding and the initiative of local community and development groups. I understood from the last municipal district meeting we attended that this group did not receive the details of the necessary specifications or requirements to meet the accommodation needs of the Department. There does not seem to have been any meaningful contact by the Office of Public Works with individual property owners to ensure all potential properties will be examined. I emphasise again that the owners were willing to meet the requirements of the Department, both individual private property owners and the community group that runs the enterprise centre.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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I am aware that some of my points have been made previously. The OPW is the exclusive procurer of office accommodation for the Civil Service and the sole authority in the allocation of space. This is laid out in a memo to the Government and was approved by the Cabinet in December 2012. Therefore, my Department would not make contact with landlords or potential property owners. For reasons that can be understood, this is the preserve of the OPW. While the Department sets out what is broadly required, the OPW is the exclusive procurer of property for the State.

Questions have been asked about efforts made by the OPW. I do not want to go into detail, but I am advised that generally it conducts a market search, checks to see what is available on the market and makes contact with local auctioneers to determine if there are available properties which might not be on offer in the open market.

Members have referred to the meeting held towards the end of last year with the Minister of State, Deputy Kevin Humphreys, and a delegation from Monaghan County Council which included the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Heather Humphreys, and Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin to discuss the options in retaining a presence in the town. At the meeting it was agreed that my Department would ask the OPW to hold off from signing a lease for a premises in Monaghan town so as to allow the representatives and officials to suggest potential alternatives in Ballybay. These were reviewed by the OPW, but, unfortunately, they were not deemed to be viable in the light of time and cost considerations.

I am sorry that the response is not more positive. As the Deputies know, the Department has a number of operations and sub-offices in County Monaghan. We also have quite a number of people employed, in the context of community employment services, including supervisors, in Tús, Gateway and other schemes. We are committed to providing people in County Monaghan with good services within the remit of the Department. Unemployment in the county has fallen significantly in the past year.

It has fallen by almost 19%. I regret that the reply is not more positive, but if there is more information the Deputies believe has not been properly evaluated, the evaluator will have to be the Office of Public Works, not the Department. I would, however, be happy to bring it to its attention.