David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 136: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No. 103 of 16 October 2007, if the contract for the sale of the site has been received by the Office of Public Works from Cork County Council; his views on the possibility of decentralising the Public Appointments Service to Youghal before the third quarter of 2009 in view of the fact that more than 100 employees have indicated their desire to move; his further views on interim accommodation in Youghal for PAS while awaiting permanent accommodation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2344/08]

Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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Terms were agreed with Cork County Council in 2006 to purchase a site comprising 1.21 Hectares/2.98 acres in Youghal to provide decentralised offices for the Valuation Office, (100 staff) and the Public Appointments Service (100) staff.

A draft Contract for Sale was received by the Office of Public Works in October 2007. The Chief State Solicitor is in the process of examining the Contract and associated matters in consultation with the Office of Public Works and the Council's Solicitors.

Once the site is acquired, the office accommodation will be procured through a "design build" process. Under this process, a short list of builders will be invited to submit design proposals and costs for construction of the offices. These will be evaluated and a preferred bidder will then apply for Planning Permission for the chosen design.

The critical first step in procurement is the acquisition of the site, and there are still some complex title and related issues, (such as a Wayleave and various rights over the site), to be clarified before the purchase can be completed.

The indicative timeframe given by the Decentralisation Implementation Group for decentralisation to Youghal is quarter 3 2009. This is of course subject to the timely resolution of the title issues, the tendering process and the planning process.

The Public Appointments Service has indicated that it will consider sending an advance party to Youghal, if suitable office space can be sourced by the OPW. In this regard the OPW is checking availability of offices in Youghal.