Michael Brennan (Progressive Democrats)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Parlon, and his officials to the House, and thank him for taking this opportunity to discuss the Government's ambitious plan. I am aware of calls from various quarters for the rolling-back or postponing of the decentralisation programme, but it is not always clear why groups make such a call. If the call is for political reasons from political parties, let them say so. If the call is from vested interests, let them also set out why they object. I say this because the calls from Members opposite certainly cannot be based on either a lack of enthusiasm among public servants, or because the programme is in someway being imposed.

Of course, the Minister of State, the Government, the Progressive Democrats and I all support the programme. More important than my support or that of anyone for the project, is the enthusiasm among pubic servants for decentralisation. This aspect is regularly and regrettably omitted from the debate. Almost all Departments are involved, either wholly or partly, in decentralisation. Some 10,000 applications have been made and new applications are being received every week. Since the closing of the application period in September 2004, I understand an average of 100 new applications have been received each month over the past 14 months. Such is the enthusiasm for the project.

Unfortunately the numbers relating to decentralisation have been manipulated of late, I fear, to serve various agendas. We have had defective reporting of numbers within a particular Department wishing to relocate within that same Department and we have seen issues of internal problems within an agency being conflated with the overall project. This behaviour does not serve the Opposition, workers' representative groups, the Departments, the public servants themselves, or the towns that are earmarked for decentralised Departments.

It has been suggested that the programme is forcing some workers to relocate. I always understood the decentralisation programme to be entirely voluntary. Staff may opt to decentralise with their post or to another post in a decentralised location, or they may opt to remain in Dublin. It may be necessary to explain further to some people the difference between operational realities and so-called "promotional blackmail". However, that is surely a job forthe decentralisation implementation group. Responsibility to drive forward the implementation of the programme lies with the DIG, not with the Minister of State.

I will conclude with a case study. As the Department of Finance has made clear, the potential benefits of decentralisation are immense. Existing civil servants seeking to leave Dublin, for example, in order to return to family and friends back home, or to acquire an affordable and comfortable family home within easy reach of their workplace, will have a broad range of options. It also seems likely that there will be a wider range of work and career opportunities for public servants already working outside Dublin. Present and future civil servants who aspire to senior management positions will no longer need to move to Dublin, although many may continue to do so.

Pressures on traffic congestion and housing inflation in Dublin will be reduced and the programme will provide a very significant boost to local economies. For example, under the programme, the Revenue Commissioners will decentralise 50 posts to Newcastle West, County Limerick, and 20 or 30 spin-off jobs can also be expected. This may be worth more than €1.5 million directly to the local Newcastle West economy. The planned decentralisation to Newcastle West illustrates clearly the points I have outlined. The Revenue Commissioners have prepared and submitted an implementation plan for Newcastle West to the implementation group and this plan is being progressed. I understand analysis of first preferences applications from the central application facility indicated some 81 applicants for Newcastle West, which indicates no shortage of enthusiasm.

Internal information seminars regarding the transfer of work from the Office of the Collector General to the new locations in the mid-west region have been completed, and letters of offer for transfer to Newcastle West were issued to staff in June last year. Again, the information process was put in place and is working. I congratulate the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Parlon, and his Department on accommodating the move. I understand the Commissioners of Public Works are considering tenders for the provision of offices under phase one of the decentralisation programme. I also believe the commissioners expect to have reached a decision on tenders as early as this month. My point is that decentralisation is not only welcome among public servants; many are crying out for it. They are fed up with living far from work and, most important, far from their extended families.

Second, the towns identified for decentralisation look forward to welcoming new families to their communities and new workers to their economies. Political and vested-interest point-scoring is possible if one knocks the programme, but it should be avoided. We should commend the Minister of State on his role in accommodating the relocations and the decentralisation implementation group on its work in driving the project to a successful conclusion.