Brendan Daly (Fianna Fail)

The difficulty with the Opposition Members in both Houses is reminiscent of a comment which I am sure the Minister of State has heard, namely, "I love you darling, but". There is always a "but", and their statements are always contradictory. While the Opposition Members are all in favour of decentralisation and want to see it working, they will always claim that the manner in which it is being done will prevent its success. While this may be fine from an Opposition perspective, in reality the process of decentralisation has been under way for 50 or 60 years or more. Sometimes, progress has been slow or delayed. I can recall when John Bruton, as Minister for Finance, cancelled the entire decentralisation programme after one of the elections in 1981. He did so after matters were almost ready to proceed, in that sites had been bought, negotiations had been entered into and decisions had been made as to what units were to move. That decision delayed decentralisation by some ten to 15 years.

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and compliment him on his tenacity in dealing with this complex matter. It affects people's lives, livelihoods, personal family homes and everything else, and unquestionably is a complicated business. However, the Minister of State is dealing with it in an extremely forthright manner. He has always indicated his willingness — even this week — to ask people to negotiate regarding their difficulties and problems so that this process may move smoothly.

More than ten years ago, when in the office now held by the Minister of State, I endeavoured to move 1,200 staff from the Office of the Revenue Commissioners in Dublin to Ennis, Limerick and Nenagh. While it took some time, it has had a dramatic impact on towns like Nenagh and Ennis. In respect of its impact on Ennis, it has been beneficial for the civil servants who moved there to work and has provided a major boost to the economy of Ennis. It was the trigger which set off the economic transformation which has taken place there in the past ten to 15 years. The relocation to Ennis, Limerick and Nenagh was successfully completed. It took some time because of negotiations regarding office accommodations and because it was a fairly ambitious move. Members should recall that 1,200 people were moved to three locations, while the current scheme envisages the move of 10,000 people to many locations.

I have a query in respect of one aspect of the current plan, namely, the proposed move of the Irish Aid development organisation to Limerick city at the same time that a move from that city to Newcastle West and Kilrush is planned. This should be examined because if the decentralisation programme is attempting to move people from Dublin to Limerick, it should be noted that a fairly substantial decentralisation from Limerick to Newcastle West, Kilrush and Listowel is already planned. This matter should be revisited because it appears that at present, many people in Limerick city want to move out. That is proven by the fact that the numbers for Newcastle West are fully subscribed, as are the numbers for Kilrush.

The Kilrush, Listowel and Newcastle West concept came about when three towns came together with the help of local organisations and development associations as well as the Shannon Development company. They put forward a scheme whereby a substantial number of staff could be moved to locations within easy reach of each other using the car ferry in Killimer. This has been an important success story, as evinced by the uptake of staff who are willing to move to those three locations. I am glad that the Kilrush site in particular is working out satisfactorily. As far as I am aware, the proposed 50 positions have been offered to people and they have already expressed the desire that the concept would be moved forward. Some discussion has taken place in Kilrush in respect of suitable accommodation and I want the Minister of State to expedite this matter. Even on a temporary basis, accommodation is available. As the Government intends to provide a permanent office for their personnel in Kilrush and given that those people have been advised of the positions, it is important to use temporary accommodation until such time as an office is ready.

Ample accommodation is available in the town of Kilrush in a number of locations. As far as I am aware, the Minister received several proposals after making inquiries in respect of accommodation there. Some parties made representations to Members to have their cases put forward for consideration. That process has now been concluded and it is important that action be taken speedily.

I compliment the implementation team because of its success in many areas although there will always be nitpicking in respect of particular areas with which there will be difficulties. For example, there is a difficulty in respect of Enterprise Ireland as to whether its staff wishes to relocate to Shannon. The vehicle registration unit of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government was transferred to Shannon more than 25 years ago and has operated successfully there since. The unit now employs up to 100 staff in its office in Shannon town. It has been an important office and has also made a major impact on Shannon.

Any Enterprise Ireland staff who have anxieties about a potential move to Shannon should examine the experience of, or talk to, staff in the vehicle registration unit in Shannon. They would hear of the success which the vehicle registration unit had in its relocation there and of the satisfaction its staff have in living somewhere like Shannon, with all its attendant benefits and attractions. For instance, one can walk up the road to the airport. If one tried to travel to Dublin Airport, I am sure that one would encounter some delays. However, one could stroll up to Shannon Airport this afternoon and take a flight to wherever one wished.

While there may be difficulties in respect of some areas, time will settle many of them. In the case of Ennis, a certain amount of relocation was involved and in such cases, it takes a while for it to settle down before it begins to be effective. However, the experiment in Ennis has been extremely successful from the perspective of the town of Ennis. It triggered and spearheaded the economic transformation that has taken place there. I can recall canvassing in Ennis before that took place. One travelled through derelict buildings, derelict streets and vacant places that could not be sold or leased. The place was economically devastated. However, thanks to the Government decentralisation, in addition to the decision to introduce urban renewal schemes for the town, Ennis is now thriving and the impact in many of its surrounding areas has been dramatic.

I look forward to welcoming the Revenue personnel to the town of Kilrush, where they will enjoy great attractions. I compliment the various organisations in Kilrush who worked closely with all the public representatives to ensure that they made their case. They received advice from consultants and had the wholehearted support of the Shannon Free Airport Development Company. Its representatives in both north Kerry and west Clare worked with the various committees to put forward the best possible case. To be honest, at the outset those involved were sceptical as to whether this would succeed, because the towns were relatively small. It was also important to group them together from the civil servants' perspective, because it opened up promotion prospects and made it more attractive for people to locate there.

There will be a certain amount of re-organisation and difficulties in getting decentralisation up and running successfully but the Minister of State has the energy to get the entire operation moving. I do not understand why people are still saying there should be more discussions with unions and other interested parties. This relocation of 10,000 people has been talked about for five or six years. Do they want to continue until the day of judgment talking about whether or not one will do this?

I compliment Charlie McCreevy, the former Minister, for making the decision to go ahead with decentralisation. There is talk now of making this an election issue. I pressed him strongly before the last general election to make the decision on Kilrush and suggested to him that had he made that decision I might not be here now but in the other House.