Dan Boyle (Cork South Central, Green Party)
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Question 97: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the progress made in the decentralisation of his Department's overseas aid division, Irish Aid, to Limerick; if he is satisfied that the staff levels, expertise, and resources available to Irish Aid will be adequate to administer the aid programme effectively; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34479/06]

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Under the Government's decentralisation programme, the Development Cooperation Directorate of the Department of Foreign Affairs, which is Irish Aid's Headquarters, and currently based in Dublin, will decentralise to Limerick. This is scheduled to take place during the third quarter of 2007 and will involve the relocation to Limerick of 124 posts.

The situation is as follows:

Already, 47 posts in Irish Aid headquarters, including that of Director General, are filled by officers who have signalled their intention to decentralise to Limerick. 12 of these officers were already serving within the Department. The remainder is made up of 25 officers who have been recruited from other Departments and Offices via the Central Applications Facility, 7 officers who have been assigned from inter-Departmental promotion panels and 3 newly-recruited officers.

A further 17 officers who are serving elsewhere in the Department, mostly abroad, are also expected to decentralise to Limerick and will be taking up duty in Irish Aid in advance of the move.

In addition, 21 officers from other Departments who have applied to decentralise to Limerick, most of whom are currently based in provincial locations, will transfer to the Department closer to the date of the move. Once these officers take up duty in Irish Aid, 85 posts (69% of the Directorate's staff complement) will be in place.

A small number of staff, approximately 15 at entry grades (Clerical Officer and Third Secretary), will be recruited locally for direct assignment to Limerick in the months preceding the move.

There are 24 development specialist posts attached to Irish Aid's headquarters. Four Development Specialists and two Senior Development Specialists, who had applied to decentralise, have since decided to withdraw their applications. The specialists, with the support of the IMPACT trade union, say that they are not prepared to consider decentralising while issues around the terms and conditions of their employment are unresolved.

Discussions are continuing with representatives of the specialists, with IMPACT, and with the Department of Finance with a view to resolving the issues involved which also have a wider Civil Service dimension. It would be my hope that a greater number of Specialists will, in time, volunteer to decentralise to Limerick.

The transfer of Irish Aid to Limerick presents significant challenges. Risk management issues are being addressed through planning and risk management strategies. This involves adequate handover periods in order to ensure the retention of corporate memory. Appropriate training and induction courses are being provided and will continue to be provided for new staff. Staffing changes are being phased, in order to facilitate this process.

The White Paper on Irish Aid recognises that the enormous expansion in the size of the aid programme will place heavy demands on those administering it. The Government has committed to undertaking a major review of the management of the Irish Aid programme. The review will embrace the financial and administrative systems, including approval, monitoring, audit and evaluation mechanisms, management information systems and the management and technical competencies necessary to guide the programme through this era of growth.