Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 281: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the steps which have been taken in the past twelve months to give effect to the relocation of Departmental staff to Athlone and Mullingar; the timeframe of the intended relocation; if there will be an advance group from the various sections of her Department; and the way they will be selected. [33316/06]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 282: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of staff in her Department who have expressed a willingness to move to Athlone and Mullingar; the way she will achieve the stated objective of the Government to relocate the whole Department; and when it is intended to relocate those happy to move. [33317/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 281 and 282 together.

The latest report of the Decentralisation Implementation Group, which was published earlier this month, gives indicative construction completion dates of the second quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009 for Athlone and Mullingar respectively. No decisions have been made regarding advance parties of volunteers to either Mullingar or Athlone. To date, 58 staff in my Department have accepted offers of decentralisation to Mullingar and 33 have accepted offers for Athlone. To date, 53 volunteers have been assigned to posts in Dublin decentralising to Mullingar and 28 volunteers have been assigned to posts decentralising to Athlone. Further offers of decentralisation have been accepted, with the staff yet to be assigned, some of whom are currently working outside Dublin and will be assigned closer to decentralisation to minimise the need to commute daily to Dublin. The process of making decentralisation offers continues as trawls of the Central Applications Facility yield late applicants or those changing their choice of locations to Athlone or Mullingar.

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 283: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the plans in relation to the staff within her Department who have not expressed an interest in relocating to Athlone and Mullingar; the way in which their expertise and experience will be retained for the Department. [33318/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Staff in my Department who do not wish to decentralise to Athlone or Mullingar have the option of either applying under the Central Applications Facility to decentralise to another Department or Office or to apply under the Dublin Arrangements to transfer to a vacancy in a Department or Office remaining in Dublin. In 2005, my Department's Decentralisation Committee had a series of meetings with sections scheduled to decentralise to Athlone. The purpose of the meetings was to increase knowledge and awareness of the decentralisation programme, including outlining indicative timeframes and to discuss ways in which sections should start preparing for decentralisation. The 2006 business planning process was used to assess sections' preparedness for decentralisation in terms of records management and the availability of job guides. Many sections indicated that they already had prepared job guides for critical areas of work.

Staff in my Department's Change Management Unit have undergone specialist training in process mapping to support preparations for decentralisation. In 2006, an additional Assistant Principal Officer was assigned to the Change Management Unit to support business continuity throughout the Department, with an initial focus on those sections in my Department scheduled to move to Athlone. Following consultation with those sections, a template for job guides and business processes has been agreed. This will facilitate the development of job guides for those remaining areas of work which have not been documented. The business planning process introduced under the Strategic Management Initiative ensures that all sections within my Department have a business plan, which identifies the priority areas of work and staff responsible. Role profile forms identify the role and function of each officer in my Department, greatly facilitating the transfer of staff and of work. In addition, my Department has been updating its reference guides under sections 15 and 16 of the Freedom of Information Act.