Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 60: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will report on the decentralisation plans of each agency of his Department; the number of staff decentralised in each agency to date; the number required to decentralise; the number of staff within each agency of his Department who have formally indicated a willingness to decentralise to the towns allocated for that agency; the timescale for each element of his Department's agencies' decentralisation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18612/07]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Four of the Agencies under the aegis of my Department are due to decentralise as follows: FÁS is to move 383 posts to Birr, Co. Offaly; Enterprise Ireland (EI) is to move 300 posts to Shannon; The Health and Safety Authority is to move 110 posts to Thomastown, Co. Kilkenny; and The National Standards Authority of Ireland is to move 132 posts to Arklow, Co. 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 CAF data is based on "priority first preference" applications.

FÁS currently has fifteen staff members physically located in Birr. These FÁS Staff members are currently in rented accommodation in the Birr Technology Centre. An additional 102 staff have expressed an interest in relocating to Birr. It is anticipated that between 40 and 50 staff will be located in Birr by the end of the year. The breakdown of these additional 102 FÁS staff have expressed an interest in relocating to Birr is as follows: 23 FÁS staff have volunteered to move (including CAF); 44 New Entrants have signed contracts with the relocation clause; and 35 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 Labour Court is expected to hold a hearing on the position concerning the inclusion of a relocation clause in contracts of employment for staff who have been promoted in Head Office matter in the near future and will issue a recommendation to the parties in due course. FÁS is currently going through a legal process in relation to the purchase of a site in Birr, Co. Offaly.

Latest figures show that one Enterprise Ireland staff member has applied for decentralisation to Enterprise Ireland in Shannon. I understand that the number of applications received from within the civil and public service, including my Department, amounts to 27, thus giving an overall total of 28 persons. Progress on the full transfer of EI's HQ to Shannon, within the Government decentralisation programme, will be influenced by factors such as the level of interest in the Shannon location expressed by CAF applicants and by progress made during discussions at a central level with regard to decentralisation.

As the Deputy will be aware, the functions hitherto carried out by Shannon Development in relation to the development of indigenous industry in the Mid-West Region were transferred to EI with effect from 1 January 2007. This transfer of functions also involved the transfer of posts from Shannon Development to EI. The necessary arrangements to give effect to these changes are in train.

I have noted, and welcome the fact that, Enterprise Ireland has established its National Regional Development Headquarters in Shannon and has established the County Enterprise Support Unit in Shannon. EI has appointed a senior manager as Head of Regions and Entrepreneurship who is guiding the establishment and successful impact of the EI presence in the Mid-West Region. EI has taken up residence in Shannon in office space, which accommodates both the new functions being located in the Region and the staff transferring from Shannon Development.

Regarding the Health and Safety Authority, 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 (CAF) process in transferring to Thomastown. In anticipation of the move, the Authority established an interim office in Kilkenny city in August 2006; 24 staff have re-located to that office. By September 2007, this number will increase to 28. All staff that move in the interim to the Kilkenny office will transfer to Thomastown when the premises there is completed. The Authority has been advised by Office of Public Works (OPW) that the process of site procurement is in its final stages. The current estimated date of availability for occupancy is early 2009. All newly recruited Dublin based staff are contracted to move to Thomastown.

The number of staff in NSAI who have, to date, applied for decentralisation is 11. None has been decentralised to date. The current NSAI implementation plan had anticipated a target date of April 2009 as the completion date of its decentralisation programme; however, this is highly dependent on the resolution of IR issues at central level