Written answers

Wednesday, 1 June 2005

Department of Finance

Decentralisation Programme

8:00 pm

Photo of Olivia MitchellOlivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 29: To ask the Minister for Finance if he is satisfied with the progress in making staff assignments to decentralising posts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18353/05]

Photo of Brian CowenBrian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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The Government's decentralisation programme, announced in budget 2004, identified Tullamore as one of the decentralised locations to which 131 posts from my Department were to be relocated. The management advisory committee of my Department decided that the finance directorate, the Civil Service Centre for Management and Organisation Development, the national development plan evaluation unit and the ERDF financial control unit would be the sections to be moved. Tullamore is in the first phase of offices decentralising and the target date for the move is July 2006. The data from the central applications facility, CAF, published in September 2004 showed that a total of 116 persons have applied for decentralisation to Tullamore as their first choice.

The first round of data from the CAF became available last February. Since then my Department has filled 26 of the 131 posts going to Tullamore. Four more are available for assignment to posts going to Tullamore. In addition, there are about 24 people in my Department that wish to decentralise with other Departments that have staff who wish to go to Tullamore. We are arranging swaps for this group and when these are completed, over 50 of the 131 posts going to Tullamore will be filled.

In the coming weeks we will also be working with other Departments to secure the transfer to my Department of staff who wish to go to Tullamore. At the same time we will be facilitating the transfer of staff from my Department who are moving to other Departments to decentralise.

In addition to the Tullamore moves, a total of 34 posts from the information and communications technology, ICT, sections of the Centre for Management and Organisation Development were identified for relocation to Kildare. While Kildare is not in the first phase of offices decentralising, a detailed plan for this relocation has been prepared. It sets out the protocols that will be followed to assign staff to these posts where incumbent staff have chosen not to decentralise. It is anticipated that sufficient assignments can be made within the next year to facilitate decentralisation.

The phasing of moves into and out of my Department are being arranged in accordance with the provisions of the Department's decentralisation implementation plan, which was circulated to all staff and which provides for a phased assignment of staff to business units decentralising to Tullamore. I am satisfied sufficient progress has been made to date.

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