Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Question 396: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the issues that have arisen following the risk analysis being conducted on his Department's decentralisation programme; the way in which it is intended to address these issues; the projected cost of resolving these issues; the overall cost of his Department's decentralisation programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31976/05]

Séamus Brennan (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)
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My Department is due to decentralise all its headquarters sections remaining in Dublin to six locations throughout the country, involving some 1,300 staff. It is scheduled to decentralise to Sligo and Carrick-on-Shannon early in 2007, to Carrickmacross in 2008, and to Drogheda, Donegal and Buncrana in 2009.

My Department has submitted implementation plans to the decentralisation implementation group, one feature of which is the identification of the potential risks to the Department's operations in completing the decentralisation programme. The Department has extensive experience of decentralisation having already established decentralised offices in Letterkenny, Sligo, Longford, Waterford and Dundalk. These moves were completed with minimum disruption to the service of the Department and the experience gained will assist us in the current programme.

The Department has established a project board to oversee the process and is taking steps to mitigate the risks associated with the moves. These include management of the movement of staff, adequate training of all staff before the moves take place, co-ordination of the accommodation and information technology requirements in a timely manner, and identification of the communication strategies required, both during and after the moves have taken place.

Early estimates of the costs associated with the programme were based on a roll-out of the programme over the three-year timeframe and included staffing, travel and subsistence, overtime, furniture, and information technology and telecommunications costs. These estimates will be refined on an ongoing basis as the longer timeframe is implemented. Risk mitigation strategies associated with the decentralisation programme will form part of the general estimated figures. The Department will track the costs associated with the programme on an ongoing basis.