Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 112: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the status of plans for decentralisation of units, sections or agencies in his Department; the duties of FÁS which are to be assigned to employees remaining in Dublin after decentralisation; the duties which will be transferred to Birr; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23498/06]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 167: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the extent to which decentralisation proposals for his Department or its subsidiary bodies have been achieved to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24119/06]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I propose to take Questions Nos. 112 and 167 together.

My Department is required to move 250 posts to Carlow under the Government's Decentralisation Programme. In addition, four of the Agencies under the aegis of my Department are due to decentralise as follows: FÁS is to move 383 posts to Birr, Co. Offaly; Enterprise Ireland is to move 292 posts to Shannon; The Health and Safety Authority is to move 110 posts to Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny, and The National Standards Authority of Ireland is to move 132 posts to Arklow, Co. Wicklow.

My Department is required to move 250 posts to Carlow under the Government's Decentralisation Programme. The second iteration of the Department's Decentralisation Implementation Plan, which was submitted to the Department of Finance last year, sets out how the decentralisation programme will be implemented within the Department.

The number of posts in Business Units decentralising to Carlow, as at 16th May, is 276. The following business units have been earmarked for decentralisation:

∙Companies Registration Office / Registry of Friendly Societies

∙Work Permits

∙Labour Inspectorate / Employment Rights

∙Redundancy & Insolvency

Having regard to the Department of Finance agreed staff protocols, my Department has approached all General Service staff who expressed a first preference before 7th September 2004 i.e Priority Applications for relocation to Carlow through the Central Application Facility and there are currently 169 priority first preference applications for Carlow, with good interest across all grades.

Officials in my Department have analysed the so-called Two to Ten priority applicants — those who before the 7th September 2004 deadline identified Carlow as their 2nd or subsequent choice. In addition, given that there still remains a deficit in some grades my Department has assessed the post September 2004 CAF applicants, in line with Department of Finance policy. As a result of these trawls we expect to be in a position to fill a further 39 posts.

My Department currently has 97 Carlow-bound applicants assigned to decentralising posts and we expect to have all decentralising posts filled in sufficient time to ensure that staff are adequately trained in advance of the move to Carlow.

With regard to the property side of the Department's move, the Office of Public Works completed the purchase of a site in Carlow town centre late last year. On 31st May 2006, the OPW commenced the tendering process by seeking expressions of interest from developers in relation to the design, build, finance and maintenance of new office accommodation and car parking for the Department in Carlow.

On completion of this stage, a short-list of developers will be drawn up from whom tenders will be invited. Following the tender evaluation process the preferred tenderer will be requested to seek suitable planning permission. On obtaining this, the OPW will formally award the contract and construction will commence. The OPW expect construction to begin early in 2007 and the construction phase may take up to 24 months.

In order to accommodate staff who wish to move earlier than the projected building completion date, officials of my Department, in consultation with the Department of Finance and the OPW, as well as decentralising staff and Business Units, are actively exploring the option of an earlier move to Carlow, subject to securing high quality temporary accommodation. This latter option could allow for the movement of approximately 80 decentralising staff to Carlow during the first half of next year, on a voluntary basis. A revised implementation plan will be drawn up by my officials once a decision has been taken on the temporary accommodation available.

My Department continues to provide advice and support to each of the four Agencies in progressing their decentralisation programmes and there is a dedicated Agency Decentralisation Committee to drive the process forward. In addition, I am satisfied that each Agency is fully engaged in the process and taking all of the relevant steps to advance their decentralisation plans. In outlining the current Agency position on decentralisation, it must be remembered that CAF data is based on priority first preference applications.

Under the Government's decentralisation programme, FÁS is due to transfer its head office including 383 staff to Birr, County Offaly with a target date of 2009. Contracts for the purchase of a site in Birr have been signed. To date, a total of 152 staff have expressed an interest in relocating to Birr, of which 85 are internal FÁS staff, broken down as follows:

∙14 FÁS staff have volunteered to move (outside of CAF)

∙6 FÁS staff have signed up trough the CAF

∙29 New Entrants have signed contracts with the relocation clause

∙36 Promoted staff have signed contracts with the relocation clause, however these cases will be examined by the parties as part of the LRC proposed process.

With regard to the ongoing dispute between FÁS and SIPTU in relation to decentralisation, I welcome the fact that an LRC proposal has been accepted by both sides. The proposal provides for the parties to enter a process of discussion, facilitated by the LRC, on the arrangements to apply in respect of promotion in light of the relocation of FÁS Head Office to Birr. The process should conclude not later than two months from the date of the first meeting, and any unresolved issues at that stage should be referred to the Labour Court for recommendation.

All the duties/activities carried out in the Head office of FÁS are scheduled to be transferred to Birr. In line with the Government's commitment on this issue, all employees not wishing to transfer out of Dublin will be facilitated with an alternative post in Dublin, and all relevant issues will be discussed with the unions.

Enterprise Ireland is to move 292 posts to Shannon. The most recent CAF figures show that a total of 52 people (of which 19 are internal EI staff) have signalled their interest in moving to Shannon, at this stage. The most immediate implementation step for Enterprise Ireland is to provide for a new HQ building, designed to meet the business needs of the organisation. Enterprise Ireland, working closely with the Office of Public Works (OPW), has identified but not yet acquired a preferred site in Shannon.

The Health and Safety Authority is to move 110 posts to Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny. The Authority has been advised by OPW that as the site procurement is in the final stages, the current timeline for availability for occupancy is late 2008. To date, a total of 62 people (11 HSA staff (including 9 promotions), 41 Civil Servants, 10 Public Servants) have expressed an interest in transferring to Thomastown, through the CAF. In addition, there are 21 staff in the process of being recruited for the REACH Chemicals Strategy. These 21 new recruits, along with four serving staff who wish to move in advance of the Thomastown premises being available, will shortly move to interim accommodation in Kilkenny city.

The National Standards Authority of Ireland, with a total of 132 staff, is to be relocated to Arklow. The latest available CAF figures show a total of 130 first preference priority applications for Arklow (of which 11 are from within the Authority). NSAI are working closely with OPW in identifying and securing suitable office accommodation in the Arklow area and the NSAI anticipate a target date of April 2009 as the completion date of its decentralisation plan.