Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 516: To ask the Minister for Finance if he will confirm reports that workers at the Office of Public Works who refuse to decentralise will be allowed to work from their homes in Dublin; the number of qualifying staff; the breakdown by grade of the staff involved; the number of staff estimated to seek to work from home; the way in which this work will be supervised and managed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29420/06]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 517: To ask the Minister for Finance if a commitment has been made to professional staff in the Office of Public Works who do not wish to transfer to Trim, that staff will not be recruited to the decentralised office until positions have been found for them in other civil service posts; the number of applications received from the professional staff to date to transfer to Trim; the percentage of the professional staff this represents; the number of persons who have not applied to date who have been allocated a position in another civil service post; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29421/06]

Tom Parlon (Laois-Offaly, Progressive Democrats)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 516 and 517 together.

The voluntary nature of decentralisation has been a central feature of the programme both from its inception and in ongoing discussions with staff and their respective unions.

With particular regard to the OPW professional and technical staff it has been stated that imaginative solutions to the issues raised may need to be explored, provided always these both support and optimise the service delivery of a newly-decentralised OPW to Trim, Claremorris and Kanturk.

Innovative work arrangements such as e-working will be considered as part of the ongoing discussions between the union and the official side. The issue of securing appropriate Dublin based posts will continue to be addressed as a priority and recruitment in a decentralised location will have due regard to developments.

The number of OPW professional and technical staff associated with Trim is 43 which represents 38% of the appropriate staff number in the new OPW HQ. The process of absorbing OPW professional and technical staff into other posts in the Civil Service will be addressed as part of the developing framework on this issue.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 518: To ask the Minister for Finance the spending to date on the proposed new headquarters for the Office of Public Works in Trim; the estimated annual cost of maintaining this office until it is fully staffed as a headquarters; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29422/06]

Tom Parlon (Laois-Offaly, Progressive Democrats)
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Expenditure incurred to date on the proposed new headquarters for the Office of Public Works (OPW) in Trim amounts to €4.8m. This includes the cost of site acquisition, site surveys, archaeological investigations, design services, etc.

As the procurement process for the proposed new headquarters is still in progress it is not possible, at this early stage, to furnish an estimate of the annual cost of maintaining the building. However, as the building (and its contents, including plant and equipment, etc.) will be new when it has been satisfactorily completed and handed over by the contractor to the OPW, the Commissioners of Public Works anticipate that the cost of maintenance in the foreseeable future will be minimal.

In addition, the building has been specifically designed for low maintenance and low energy consumption.