Denis Naughten (Longford-Roscommon, Fine Gael)
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Question 112: To ask the Minister for Finance the status of the decentralisation programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19087/06]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I would like to state the Government's full commitment to the decentralisation programme.

The Decentralisation Implementation Group chaired by Mr. Finbarr Flood was established to drive the process forward and to oversee its effective delivery. The Group, recognising that it would not be feasible for all organisations to move at the same time, proposed phasing arrangements and revised timeframes out to 2009 for civil service organisations. These arrangements were accepted by Government and announced in June of last year and I am satisfied that good progress continues to be made.

I understand that the Decentralisation Implementation Group has met with a number of Secretaries General and are satisfied with the level of planning in each of the Departments. The Group is currently meeting with the Chief Executives of a number of State Agencies to discuss the planning framework in place, to assess progress to date and to hear about the challenges arising and steps proposed to address them.

The figures confirm that this is a popular programme among staff. Over 10,600 civil and public servants have applied to the Central Applications Facility.

To date some 1,500 people have been assigned to posts destined for new locations and are currently being trained in their new role in readiness to move. So far, some 200 of these have actually relocated and it is expected that up to 1,000 will have moved by the end of the year.

Many staff have opted to move to locations outside of Dublin while others have indicated that they wish to be assigned to posts remaining in Dublin. The Government is committed to facilitating those who wish to remain with a public service post in Dublin.

There is an extensive range of preparations underway in relation to the acquisition of property by the OPW, as well as the detailed implementation planning within individual Departments, Offices and Agencies, and ongoing discussions with unions in relation to the various human resource aspects of the programme.

As always when dealing with a programme of this size there are challenges to overcome but I remain confident that these can be addressed with the active co-operation of all parties involved in the implementation effort.