Paul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Question 292: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food if her attention has been drawn to the staff reductions proposed at her Department offices, Dock Road, Galway; if the staff members concerned have been informed that they can relocate to Portlaoise; the reason this extra work in Portlaoise cannot be carried out in the Galway office; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3097/05]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The mid-term review of the Common Agricultural Policy introduced the most significant agricultural reform since its establishment. The decision of the Luxembourg Council to break the link between direct payments and production, known as decoupling, has changed the fundamental nature of EU supports for the farm sector and has led directly to the introduction of the single payment scheme.

The mid-term review places a significant challenge on my Department to realign functions and processes to effectively implement the single payment regime and the linked cross-compliance inspections while ensuring that customer service standards are not adversely affected, effective administration and corporate governance is maintained and human resource issues are addressed appropriately. Once necessary operational changes to schemes and processes have been agreed, work will proceed on implementing the staff movements and structural changes to effectively implement the single payment scheme.

Following the introduction of the single payment scheme and the mid-term review, there will be an inevitable requirement for a reduction in overall staff numbers working in the relevant areas. Local office livestock staff, including my Department's Galway office, will be affected. It is not possible at this stage to predict fully all the staff changes that will result from the reallocation of work. Several steering groups in my Department are examining all the different complex issues involved, and those groups will continue to plan and monitor the situation throughout the change-over. However, the method of managing this change process in terms of all the various work and staff movements will include setting down the basic principles to apply in the context of the redeployment of staff, and that is being discussed with the relevant unions and staff associations. The objective is to put in place a system that is fair and realisable.

While it is understood that the reorganisation of the Department due to the implementation of the single payment scheme will result in a major rebalancing of work as well as reduced staffing levels, it will be mid-2005 before the detailed effects are known.