Willie Penrose (Westmeath, Labour)
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Question 77: To ask the Minister for Finance the anticipated costs, in terms of acquiring, and equipping premises and other related costs at the latest date for which figures are available of the original decentralisation programme announced in Budget 2004 and the slimmed down version announced in December 2004. [24951/06]

Tom Parlon (Laois-Offaly, Progressive Democrats)
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The Government is committed to the full implementation of the Decentralisation Programme announced in Budget 2004, involving some 10,300 civil and public service jobs in more than 56 locations across some 60 Government Departments/Offices and Agencies.

My Office is in the process of procuring appropriate properties in the designated locations for the departments and agencies involved, with much progress having been made to date. Property acquisition negotiations are completed or are significantly advanced at 30 locations.

The prevailing property market conditions in each geographical area have a significant bearing on the cost of acquiring sites. As the acquisition process is still in progress, it is not possible at this stage to provide a precise estimate of the cost of the site acquisition programme. However, and for working purposes only, an indicative figure of €75 to €100 million (excluding VAT) is being used by the OPW.

Although property solutions will include leasing and fitting-out of existing buildings, it is anticipated that, in the majority of cases, the accommodation facilities will be provided by the construction of new office buildings and cost estimation can be approached on that basis. However, in advance of actual market testing of any procurement methodology, it is possible, at this time, only to assign the most general measurements of cost to such a large-scale, diverse and complex programme.

It is estimated that approximately 210,000 sq. m of office space will be required to accommodate the total numbers included in the programme. OPW cost norms (April 2005) in respect of offices would indicate an average build-cost to fit-out standard, in the range of €1,800 to €2,200 per square metre for suburban/rural locations and €2,500 to €3,000 per square metre in city/town centre locations. Such figures exclude VAT, professional fees and inflation.

In addition the cost of equipping the accommodation to standard office equipment levels could be estimated at c.€4,000 per person. This would exclude the cost of Information and Communication Technology and specialised equipment requirements.

Such general measurements of cost do not include specialised facility and equipment requirements and other variables which would arise from the spread of possible procurement methodologies. In addition general cost indicators of this type show a snapshot in time.

It is self-evident that a firmer scale of costs for the decentralisation programme will only emerge on foot of actual cost proposals being received from the market. It will be some months yet before sufficient data can be extracted from a suitable range of tender competitions to provide a basis on which more robust estimates of the overall cost of the programme can be made. However on the basis of experience to date, there is no reason to adjust the original estimates for the overall programme.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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Question 78: To ask the Minister for Finance if he will report on progress in implementing the Government's decentralisation policy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24812/06]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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The implementation of the Decentralisation Programme is proceeding steadily. Over ten and a half thousand civil and public servants have applied to relocate under the Programme. The Central Applications Facility remains open and continues to receive applications. It is anticipated that interest will increase further as building and movement timetables firm up.

Discussions have concluded on a number of human resource and industrial relations matters and are being progressed on other issues. Actual movement of staff within and between Departments and Offices is now well underway with over 1,700 staff already assigned to civil service posts which will decentralise.

A facility is being operated through the Public Appointments Service to allow staff remaining in Dublin to express preferences in relation to the organisations to which they would like to transfer. This will be an ongoing process throughout the transition phase of the Programme and progress in this priority area will be monitored continually over the coming months.

Overall, the programme of site identification and acquisition is progressing satisfactorily. To date, property acquisition negotiations have been completed or significantly advanced in 30 locations.

The OPW are currently reviewing their indicative dates for completion of buildings in light of their experience to date.

A number of organisations have sought advance or temporary accommodation to facilitate early moves. These developments will greatly assist the decentralising Departments in taking in many of the civil servants who are currently based in provincial locations, thus giving the organisation a foothold in the new location.

Advance moves have already taken place to Sligo, Portlaoise, Thurles, Tipperary Town, Clifden and Na Forbacha in Galway. Over 200 officers have already relocated to new provincial locations under the Programme.

All Departments and Offices have produced implementation plans setting out the detailed arrangements they are putting in place to plan for relocation while also ensuring business continuity and effective delivery of services to customers. The plans are comprehensive and their preparation involved detailed reviews of business processes as well as the logistics of the move. Departments and Offices are taking a prudent approach in relation to assessing the risks involved and the adoption of appropriate measures to manage business risk.

Having already met with a number of Secretaries General, the Decentralisation Implementation Group is currently meeting with some of the Chief Executives of State Agencies to discuss their Implementation Plans, the planning framework in place, to assess progress to date and to hear about the challenges arising and steps proposed by the agencies to address them.

I am satisfied that good progress continues to be made on this ambitious programme.

Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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Question 79: To ask the Minister for Finance the discussions he has had with other Government Departments or State agencies who are concerned at the reported potential loss of up to 20 per cent of the 1,700 specialists whose positions have been earmarked for decentralisation as a result of the Government's decentralisation programme; the steps being taken to address these concerns; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24950/06]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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When the Decentralisation Programme was announced in December 2003, a Decentralisation Implementation Group was appointed to drive the process forward. The Group's terms of reference include the examination of how decentralisation might enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the public service.

The Implementation Group asked that all organisations participating in the programme should prepare detailed implementation plans, including risk mitigation plans. These plans were prepared and submitted to the Group. Each of the Departments and organisations scheduled as "early movers" has prepared a revised implementation plan detailing the steps that need to be taken in order to complete the moves to the new locations successfully.

There are of course particular challenges for the State Agencies in managing the degree of change involved. While the Civil Service has previous experience of significant decentralisation, this expertise is only now being developed in the wider state sector. The Decentralisation Implementation Group, in its June 2005 report, emphasised the responsibility of management within the various state agencies to progress the implementation of Government policy in this regard. It went on to state that progress should be monitored by the responsible department and requested that the next and deeper iteration of each agency's implementation plan should be prepared. I understand that agencies are preparing these plans at present.

I also 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.

In the meantime, discussions are ongoing between my Department and the unions representing professional & technical staff on all aspects relating to implementation of the programme. I understand that my Department has put a range of proposals to IMPACT on options for placing staff in Dublin which will require further negotiations with a range of unions involved in the process. There are no quick solutions to this issue but I am confident that we can make progress towards addressing the needs of all staff. The experience in the Civil Service suggests that the needs of the programme can be effectively balanced against the needs of staff when all sides are willing to engage in constructive dialogue.

On a more general note, the Committee for Public Management Research (CPMR) has recently conducted a Review of Knowledge Management in the Irish Civil Service. The purpose of the review was to raise awareness of knowledge management and its potential to support organisations in achieving their business objectives. It recognised that knowledge management had been given greater priority in response to ever-increasing pressure to improve efficiency, together with a growing awareness of the importance of sharing knowledge across Government organisations to maintain a whole-Government perspective on policy making and service delivery. It also recognised that the need for this has been given greater impetus by the Decentralisation Programme and the likelihood of significant changes in personnel in many Departments. The review identifies concrete steps and cultural change required of Government Departments in order to use and share knowledge more effectively.