Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 297: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment when and the way he plans to proceed with decentralisation in his Department; the way it will be implemented; the resources that will be made available; the extent to which it will be implemented; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18431/07]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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My Department has been making good progress in regard to the relocation of 250 posts to Carlow under the Government's Decentralisation Programme.

The following business units/Offices of my Department have been selected as part of the Decentralisation Programme and will be relocated in the new decentralised office: Companies Registration Office/Registry of Friendly Societies; National Employment Rights Authority (NERA); Work Permits; Redundancy Payments Section; Insolvency Payments Section. As of 2 July 2007, the total number of posts in Business Units decentralising to Carlow is 288.

In order to accommodate staff who wish to move earlier than the projected building completion date of the permanent office, officials of my Department, in consultation with the Department of Finance and the OPW, as well as decentralising staff and Business Units, are finalising arrangements for an advanced move to Carlow. Approximately 100 staff, i.e. 63 staff from NERA and 33 staff from a division within the CRO, along with a small number of support staff, are scheduled to decentralise to Carlow with effect from Monday 30th July 2007.

With regard to the permanent office, the OPW completed the purchase of a site in Carlow town centre late in 2005. On the 31st May 2006, the OPW sought expressions of interest from developers of new office accommodation and car parking for the Department on this site. This is part of a major PPP project, which also involves the provision of office accommodation for the Department of Agriculture and Food in Portlaoise and the Department of Education and Science in Mullingar. The project will be procured on a Design/Build/Finance/Maintain basis and a single contract will be placed covering the three buildings. Financial advice is being provided to the OPW by the National Development Finance Agency.

The OPW has advised my Department that an evaluation of the Expressions of Interest was completed in February 2007, and a short-list of developers/contractors was identified from whom tenders have been invited. Tenders are due to be returned to the OPW by the end of July. When selected, it will be a matter for the preferred tenderer to secure satisfactory planning permission in respect of each of the locations. On receipt of these permissions, the preferred tenderer will be instructed to prepare working drawings, specifications and Bills of Quantities with a view to a contract being placed and construction work commencing on the three sites.

The OPW has advised that, all going well, construction of the permanent office is expected at this stage to be complete in late 2009. The remaining staff will relocate to Carlow at that point.