Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 375: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the extent to which the Government's decentralisation programme has been activated by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8909/07]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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My Department has been making good progress in the relocation of the required 250 posts to Carlow under the Government's Decentralisation Programme. With regard to the property side of the Department's move, the Office of Public Works completed the purchase of a site in Carlow town centre late in 2005. On 31st May 2006, the OPW commenced the tendering process by seeking expressions of interest from developers in relation to the design, build, finance and maintenance of new office accommodation and car parking for the Department in Carlow. On completion of this stage, a shortlist of developers will be drawn up from whom tenders will be invited. Following the tender evaluation process the preferred tenderer will be requested to seek suitable planning permission. On obtaining this, the OPW will formally award the contract and construction will commence. The OPW expects construction to be completed by the end of 2009.

In order to accommodate staff who wish to move earlier than the projected building completion date, officials of my Department, in consultation with the Department of Finance and the OPW, as well as decentralising staff and Business Units, are progressing an earlier move to Carlow. The OPW have advised my Department that negotiations on the procurement of interim accommodation to facilitate an advance move are nearing completion. I expect this advance move option to allow for the movement of approximately 100 decentralising staff to Carlow during the second quarter of 2007, on a voluntary basis. In total, the number of posts in Business Units decentralising to Carlow, as at 5th March, is 288. As at 5th March, my Department has 103 Carlow-bound applicants assigned within the Department, with a further 71 Carlow-bound applicants yet to be assigned to the Department. It is hoped to have all decentralising posts filled in sufficient time to ensure that staff are adequately trained in advance of the move to Carlow.

Under the current Government Decentralisation Programme, four of the Agencies under the aegis of my Department are due to decentralise. FÁS is to move 383 posts to Birr, County Offaly. Enterprise Ireland is to move 292 posts to Shannon. The Health and Safety Authority is to move 110 posts to Thomastown, County Kilkenny. The National Standards Authority of Ireland is to move 132 posts to Arklow, County Wicklow. My Department continues to provide advice and support to each of the four Agencies in progressing their decentralisation programmes and there is a dedicated Agency Decentralisation Committee to drive the process forward. In addition, I am satisfied that each Agency is fully engaged in the process and taking all of the relevant steps to advance their decentralisation plans. In outlining the current Agency position on decentralisation, it must be remembered that data from the Central Applications Facility is based on "priority first preference" applications.

Under the Government's decentralisation programme, FÁS is due to transfer its head office including some 383 posts to Birr, County Offaly, by 2009 and is actively putting measures in place to advance the process. FÁS has two staff members physically located in Birr and another staff member has agreed to relocate, bringing the total to 3 staff members. These FÁS staff members are currently in rented accommodation in the Birr Technology Centre. It is anticipated that between 40 to 50 staff will be located in Birr by the end of the year. Staff located in Birr will consist of volunteers and new recruits, who continue to have the decentralisation clause in their contracts. To date, a total of 102 FÁS staff have expressed an interest in relocating to Birr. 26 FÁS staff have volunteered to move outside the Central Applications Facility. 6 FÁS staff have signed up through the facility. 34 New Entrants have signed contracts with the relocation clause. 36 promoted staff have signed contracts with the relocation clause; however following industrial action these cases are being examined by the parties and the matter has been referred to the Labour Court. The negotiations for the purchase of a site in Birr are continuing.

Enterprise Ireland is to move 292 posts to Shannon under the decentralisation programme. Figures available to Enterprise Ireland indicate that 19 of its staff have applied for decentralisation to Shannon, of which 15 are based in Dublin and 4 are based outside Dublin. I understand that the number of applications received from within the civil and public service, including my Department, amounts to 33, thus giving a total overall of 52 persons. Enterprise Ireland is establishing its National Regional Development Headquarters as well as the County Enterprise Support Unit in Shannon. In addition, the functions hitherto carried out by Shannon Development in relation to the development of indigenous industry in the Mid-West Region were transferred to Enterprise Ireland with effect from 1 January 2007. This transfer of function also involves the transfer of posts from Shannon Development to Enterprise Ireland. The necessary arrangements to give effect to these changes are in train and will be completed over the coming months.

Enterprise Ireland recently appointed a senior manager as Head of Regions and Entrepreneurship who will guide the transition and establishment of its presence in the Mid-West Region. The chief executive officer of Enterprise Ireland, Mr. Frank Ryan, announced this appointment recently during a visit to the Region by the chief executive officer and members of Enterprise Ireland's senior management team. Enterprise Ireland is sourcing a building in Shannon Town to accommodate the new functions being located in the Region and the staff transferring from Shannon Development. A number of options are under consideration and it is expected that a decision will be made by the end of March. Progress on the full transfer of Enterprise Ireland's headquarters to Shannon, within the Government decentralisation programme, will be influenced by factors such as the level of interest in the Shannon location expressed by Central Applications Facility applicants and by progress made during discussions at a central level with regard to decentralisation.

The Health and Safety Authority is required to move 110 posts to Thomastown, County Kilkenny as part of the Government's decentralisation programme. To date a total of 62 people (11 HSA staff, 41 Civil Servants, 10 Public Servants) have expressed an interest through the Central Application Facility process in transferring to Thomastown. In anticipation of the move to Thomastown, the Authority established an interim office in Kilkenny city in August 2006 — 17 staff have relocated to that office. All staff who move in the interim to the Kilkenny office will transfer to Thomastown when the premises there are completed. The Authority has been advised by Office of Public Works that as the site procurement process is in its final stages, the current estimated timeline for availability for occupancy is late 2008 or early 2009. All newly recruited Dublin based staff are ultimately contracted to move to Thomastown.

The National Standards Authority of Ireland, with a total of 132 staff, is to be relocated to Arklow. The latest available figures from the Central Applications Facility show a total of 107 first preference priority applications for Arklow from the wider public sector subject to the decentralisation programme. The number of staff from the authority who have, to date, applied for decentralisation is 11. The total number required to be decentralised is 132 and none have been decentralised to date. The authority is liaising with the OPW in identifying office accommodation in the Arklow area. The authority's current implementation plan anticipates a target date of April 2009 as the completion date of its decentralisation programme. However, this is dependent on the resolution of matters at central level.