Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 355: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when and the way she plans to proceed with decentralisation in her Department; the way it will be implemented; the resources that will be made available; the extent to which it will be implemented; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18425/07]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The Government decision on the decentralisation of my Department is that the headquarters will move to Portlaoise (involving some 600 staff); the local offices in Cork city will move to Fermoy (involving up to 100 staff); and the laboratories in Cork and Limerick will move to Macroom (again involving up to 100 staff).

My Department's Decentralisation Implementation plan provides for a phased movement to Portlaoise i.e. the transfer of functions and posts over a number of years. The 2005 and 2006 phases of Decentralisation are now complete and planning and preparation are ongoing for the remainder of 2007 and subsequent phases. In total there has been an increase of some 200 full-time posts in Portlaoise since early 2004 and there are currently over 400 Department of Agriculture and Food staff in Portlaoise. Implementation plans for Fermoy and Macroom are also in place and the recruitment process for Fermoy has begun. Initially there were 73 applicants for the 100 posts advertised for Fermoy and 74 for the 100 posts advertised for Macroom.

To cater for the increase in staff numbers, my Department has taken temporary accommodation in Portlaoise. This is now fully occupied and the OPW are sourcing additional space to cater for further advance moves. The site for the location of my Department's new offices in Portlaoise was approved in 2005. The OPW's current estimate is that construction will begin in 2007 and will be completed in 2009. My Department is also liaising with the OPW regarding specifications for the offices and identification of sites in Fermoy and Macroom.