Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 383: To ask the Minister for Education and Science 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. [18430/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Four hundred (400) Dublin based posts in my Department will relocate under the programme of decentralisation. One hundred posts (100) will relocate to Athlone and 300 posts will relocate to Mullingar. These posts will relocate when office accommodation is ready for occupation in Athlone and Mullingar respectively.

The provision of accommodation under the programme of decentralisation falls within the remit of the Office of Public Works (OPW). The OPW has indicated to the Decentralisation Implementation Group that it anticipates that new office accommodation will be ready in Athlone next year and that it should be ready in Mullingar sometime in 2009.

As the accommodation element of the programme will be managed by the OPW, the main element of the preparation to be made by my Department is the assignment of volunteers to decentralise to posts in which they will decentralise, along with arranging the transfer out to other offices/departments of those officers currently working with my Department who wish to remain in Dublin. Approximately 43% of posts scheduled to relocate to Athlone are now held by officers who will relocate with their posts and 36% of posts to relocate to Mullingar are held by officers who will decentralise with their posts. All of the information available to my Department suggests that it will be possible to fill all of the relocating posts in the decentralised locations. I expect that these percentages will rise incrementally over the coming year/years. An incremental movement of staff is necessary, if my Department is to continue to deliver services during this period of transition. However, a number of posts will be filled very close to the date of actual relocation in order to avoid requiring volunteers who are currently based outside of Dublin having to spend a significant length of time in Dublin in advance of moving to their location of choice.

My Department is managing the implementation of decentralisation within its existing resources.