Frank Feighan (Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Parlon, for coming to the House. The issue of decentralisation raises a few matters. First, I welcome the concept of decentralisation. Over the years any town which has experienced decentralisation has benefited from it. Senator Daly is correct in stating that it makes a considerable difference to an area.

One or two of my brothers worked in the Civil Service and it was harrowing to see them get on the train or bus every Sunday and go to Dublin. They came home, not every week but every three weeks. They put down roots in Dublin. I am not complaining about that but it would have been very different if there had been opportunities to work closer to their home. The concept of decentralisation has been a success, perhaps up until now.

Decentralisation has certainly helped in Sligo, which is my own area, and in Roscommon and Longford. Long before this decentralisation of 10,000 jobs was announced by the former Minister, Charlie McCreevy, it was too much of a political football. If Fine Gael had been in power, it might have done it similarly. Decentralisation invariably always went to the areas of the Ministers or Ministers of State or whoever had the influence.

About four years ago, 100 jobs in the pre-1963 pensions area of the Pensions Board were due to be created in Sligo. At the time there was no accommodation in Sligo town. They were looking for a site and it was proposed that there was a building in my own town. Those 100 jobs would have made a considerable difference to my local area. It would have been as good as 1,000 jobs in a major town like Sligo. There would have been no problems with traffic, the accommodation was a quarter of the price and there were people from north Roscommon and south Leitrim queuing up at the roundabout at Carraroe trying to get into Sligo. It was an opportunity missed. Once again, the common sense, win-win approach did not come into effect and the area lost out on those jobs.

This decentralisation programme was announced with considerable fanfare. I remember the day. There were so many smiling faces that I thought there would be a sing-song in the Members' Bar by members of the Government who were so excited. The next general election was virtually over and done with. It was a good idea but it was overdone in the publicity and PR machine. Sometimes a Government can spin itself back into difficulty and spin itself out. On this occasion there has been too much spin and the Government is spinning itself back into difficulty.

I remember speaking to the Minister, Deputy Ó Cuív, and everybody was told there were certain criteria. The criteria were that a town must be on a railway line and must not have benefited from decentralisation previously. Of the towns that were left out, I would draw attention to those which were not county towns and which did not get a fair crack of the whip.

In my area in north Roscommon there were three towns which came up with the idea of applying to get a Department, where one would be able to go from Boyle to Castlerea in 20 minutes and Castlerea to Ballaghderreen in 20 minutes. It would have made a considerable difference to that area. I am not blaming the Minister of State, Deputy Parlon, for this. We are all parochial but the Ministers around the table decided where the jobs would go.

Once again, I welcome the fact that the jobs are going into areas like Carrick-on-Shannon, Roscommon town and Longford but more could have been done by way of decentralisation whereby Ballinamore and Mohill in County Leitrim and Ballaghderreen, Strokestown, Boyle and Castlerea in Roscommon could have got jobs. That would have covered every area. The scheme could have been a little more imaginative and could have had a more positive effect on those areas.

One issue with which I have a difficulty when we speak of decentralisation is that of the county councils. County councils are not being pushed enough to decentralise around the counties. Jobs in local authorities and health boards are much sought after. There was talk of one-stop-shops and, while the councils and county managers are not getting enough funding, the will does not exist to decentralise around the county. In most of the county towns there could be up to 300 people working in the local authorities and it would make a significant difference if these people were decentralised around the county. Some towns are up to 50 miles away from the seat of power. We speak about decentralisation but not in a local authority context.

Decentralisation will be an election issue. There are signs that the taxpayer is being left with a multimillion euro bill for lands as part of decentralisation. The Department of Defence is due to relocate to Newbridge, County Kildare. Twelve sites were considered and a 4.3 acre site has emerged as a contender for the new departmental headquarters but a few miles outside the town, the Defence Forces are in possession of 771 acres. Would it be better practice to locate the headquarters on State lands? I accept the Minister of State must be seen to be doing everything above board but I am concerned that the land of people in the know who have access to Ministers is being considered. I acknowledge the process in place but the Minister of State should be vigilant about individuals being favoured for the award of lucrative Government leases. I am sure he will try to ensure the process is fair.

It is worrying that none of the 93 staff at Bord Iascaigh Mhara has opted to move. In addition, the staff of Fáilte Ireland and the National Roads Authority are reluctant to move. I was contacted by a young man employed by Enterprise Ireland who wants to move from Dublin to the west, where he got married recently, but no mechanism is in place to transfer from semi-State bodies to the Civil Service. I ask the Minister of State to consider a mechanism that will accommodate public servants such as him. Many public servants get married in their own area but if they work for organisations such as Enterprise Ireland in Dublin, they are not getting a fair crack of the whip.

I agree with Senator Bradford that the decentralisation programme is worthy and I would not be negative about. The Government can only be accused of being too hasty in announcing it and generating too much fanfare. Perhaps the eyes of the Government parties were on various constituencies in anticipation of the 2007 election but they have spun themselves out of an advantageous position.

Advance moves have taken place to Sligo, Portlaoise, Thurles, Tipperary town and An Forbacha, County Galway. Decentralisation could have a positive effect and we do not want to return to the days people queued for buses to Dublin in the 1970s and early 1980s, as they reluctantly returned to work in a Department in Dublin. Will the Minister of State consider towns that were not originally considered for decentralisation? County towns have done well and they are major catalysts for changes. Tesco and other companies have moved in but such towns may become the new Dublins. The Government should consider moving a number of these valuable jobs to other towns not mentioned in the programme. The public sector is one of the best areas in which to work because one enjoys good working conditions, a good pension, overtime and so on and smaller towns should reap the benefit of public sector jobs. I wish the Minister of State well in his future endeavours, as it is not an easy job.