Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 64: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the details of any survey that has been undertaken to establish the number of persons employed in her Department and in boards or agencies operating under the aegis of her Department who are willing to move to the new locations announced in the 2004 budget, in regard to proposals for decentralisation; the results of any such survey; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13843/04]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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Following the announcement of the Government's decentralisation programme, under which 250 staff of my Department will decentralise to Carlow, a survey was conducted within the Department with a view to establishing the numbers of staff interested in decentralising to locations outside Dublin. A total of 503 staff responded to the survey, 69 of whom indicated that they would be prepared to transfer to Carlow and 160 of whom indicated a willingness to decentralise to other locations outside Dublin. With regard to the agencies under the aegis of the Department who will be decentralised, surveys have been carried out in FÁS, which is decentralising to Birr, and the Health and Safety Authority, which is decentralising to Thomastown.

Out of the 413 Dublin-based FÁS staff who were surveyed, 30 expressed an interest in decentralising to Birr. In January 2004 the staff of the Health and Safety Authority were asked in the context of the Government decision on decentralisation whether they were interested in moving to Thomastown, County Kilkenny as part of the decentralisation of the authority. Out of the 110 staff surveyed, 15 said yes, 90 said no and there were two maybes. The National Standards Authority of Ireland, which will be decentralising to Arklow, and Enterprise Ireland, which will be decentralising to Shannon, have not conducted a survey of their staff on the issue of decentralisation.