Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 539: To ask the Minister for Defence the number of civil servants within his Department who have transferred to offices outside Dublin under the decentralisation programme to date; the percentage of those who had a previous transfer within a two year period of the decentralisation transfer; the number of those people who transferred from a non-Dublin office to a Dublin office in the initial transfer; the average time spent in the Dublin office; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6687/07]

Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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The Government Decision on decentralisation provides for the relocation of the Dublin-based offices of my Department to Newbridge, Co. Kildare. A total of 200 staff will move to the new location.

While the site upon which the new office accommodation will be built will be sold by Kildare County Council to the Office of Public Works and the preferred tenderer to construct the building has been chosen by that Office, it is not anticipated that any staff will move to Newbridge prior to the completion and fit-out of the new building which is scheduled for late 2008. Therefore, no Newbridge-bound staff have transferred to offices outside the Dublin region as yet, but staff currently working in the Dublin region are being transferred to this Department in preparation for the relocation to Newbridge. There have been no transfers of staff based in offices outside Dublin to the Dublin offices of my Department.

In addition to the relocation of my Department to Newbridge under the decentralisation programme, the Civil Defence Board completed its relocation to Roscrea, Co. Tipperary in May 2006.

An advance party of 12 staff of the Civil Defence Board moved to temporary accommodation in Roscrea in September 2004 prior to the final move. 12 of the 22 staff currently serving in the Civil Defence Board transferred from my Department, with the balance transferring to the Board's new offices in Roscrea from various other Government Departments.