Willie Penrose (Westmeath, Labour)
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Question 177: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if a person (details supplied) in County Westmeath who has done the Civil Service recruitment selection panel, will be offered employment in the decentralised offices of his Department proposed for Mullingar; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16212/04]

Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)
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Under the programme of decentralisation announced by the Minister for Finance in his budget speech, it is proposed to transfer 300 posts from my Department's offices in Dublin to Mullingar. Posts in the Mullingar office will be filled initially under the central applications facility which has been established under the Civil Service Commission for the purpose of streamlining the transfer of existing officers to the new locations announced under the decentralisation programme.

In the medium to longer-term, it will be necessary to consider the development of regional recruitment systems building on the regional arrangements for the filling of vacancies in existing decentralised offices. In accordance with the agreement in Sustaining Progress, the Minister for Finance will, in conjunction with the Civil Service Commission, put forward proposals for the development of such structures. It will be open to any individual to apply for any such competition for which he or she is eligible.

I have made inquiries with the Civil Service Commission regarding the person referred to by the Deputy. In May 2001 the Civil Service Commission held a competition, confined to former civil servants, for posts at clerical officer level in departmental offices in Dublin and certain regional offices. The person in question was placed on the panel. However, the panel closed in May 2003 before this person was reached and the commission wrote to her to inform her of this.