Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 262: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the offices of her Department which are situated on the north side of Dublin; the locations where each of them are scheduled to relocate to under decentralisation and when; those that are not yet assigned a location; and those that will be retained in their present location. [32106/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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A total of 301.5 whole time equivalent, WTE, Dublin based posts in my Department are scheduled to relocate to Mullingar under the decentralisation programme. The indicative date for the provision of accommodation in Mullingar given in the November 2004 report of the decentralisation implementation group is the second quarter of 2008. The Office of Public Works has been given the task of acquiring sites for the overall decentralisation programme. Achieving the indicative date will depend on the progress made on the remaining stages of site acquisition, planning and construction.

A further 102.5 WTE posts are scheduled to move to Athlone. This planned decentralisation will be undertaken by extending the existing building at Cornamaddy, Athlone. At this early stage, it is not possible to give an exact timetable because issues outside the control of my Department, such as planning permission, must be addressed. However, planning for the move is proceeding on the basis that the accommodation should be ready for occupation by the latter part of 2007. Post-decentralisation my Department will retain two regional offices in Dublin, one in Tallaght and another in Blanchardstown. Those posts in the inspectorate and the national educational psychological service, NEPS, that interact directly with Dublin schools will also continue to be based in Dublin.