John Minihan (Progressive Democrats)

I welcome the Minister and the opportunity to speak in support of this motion. The decision to decentralise public service jobs from Dublin to other parts of the country has been strongly welcomed, particularly by those towns and communities that will benefit. As previous speakers said, it has already created a new vibrancy in those communities, a sense of self-worth and self-belief that can only augur well. They now see an anchor being given to them around which they can further build their communities. Not only will people come to work there, but they will integrate into communities and contribute to their social lives.

We should approach the idea of decentralisation in terms of a short, medium and long-term plan to ensure efficiency is maintained and that the transition taking place over a period of time in no way undermines the vital role being played by public servants in the administration of the State. The plans and targets set out have to be readily achievable. It would be dangerous to set ourselves plans, targets and timeframes and, in the process, set about undermining the system of governance in the country.

I have a certain amount of concern as to how we approach those civil servants in the Dublin who are somewhat uneasy and unhappy about the proposed moves. There must be a sense of reality. Many people enter careers knowing they are liable to be transferred or moved, for promotional or other reasons. However, people have entered careers on the understanding that they would permanently reside in the Dublin area. That is fine and an acceptable viewpoint. However, there are people at a certain stage of life, with family and educational commitments, etc, who are now being forced to take challenging decisions vis-À-vis their careers and families. I hope that all necessary support mechanisms and systems will be put in place to reassure civil servants going through that decision making process that they will have the necessary supports to help them come to a decision. There is no doubt that the long-term advantage to the country far outweighs the short-term losses in achieving this, but it is a great responsibility on the political system to ensure that this is effected in the most efficient manner, both for the personnel involved and equally for the systems they administer.

I support in principle some of the comments made by Senator Maurice Hayes about senior level management. Whereas technology can fill many gaps in the modern era of communication, a hands-on approach is also necessary. One has to give serious consideration to the senior levels of management. Sections of Departments can be moved and operate efficiently down the country. However, we need to be careful regarding senior management level in Departments. Where there is interdepartmental interaction, this should be kept in place and I hope this will be kept under review.

Senator Browne referred to Government parties and members of my party taking credit for this initiative. I assure Senator Browne that I am taking absolutely no credit for it. I was heartened to hear that we were getting 200 jobs in Cork, but I was somewhat disheartened to discover that the 200 jobs in the Macroom-Fermoy area were coming from Cork city. I was of the opinion that decentralisation involved moving people from Dublin. However, I am allowed to be somewhat parochial, since most of us avail of the opportunity. I found it astonishing that we were moving people from Cork city to Macroom and Fermoy, which for me——