Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 210: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the reason, contrary to the Government's decentralisation policy, certain Health Service Executive offices are being moved from rural cities such as Kilkenny to larger urban centres such as Cork, inter alia, the recruitment department of the HSE based in St. Canice's Hospital, Kilkenny and the HSE superannuation department based in Kilcreene Hospital, Kilkenny; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6092/08]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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The moves referred to by the Deputy are not connected with the Government's decentralisation initiative. They are, in fact, part of a programme ongoing within the HSE since February 2006 for the development of a national shared services function across the organisation. The HSE is already a decentralised organisation with staff employed at locations across the country.

Shared services is the name given to the various support functions such as finance, human resources, procurement and ICT which are essential to the running of any organisation. The HSE views the introduction of shared services across a number of functions as a major transformation programme which has the potential to deliver significant and important efficiencies and benefits to the organisation. There is a commitment within the HSE to established three shared services sites in Manorhamilton, Dublin and Kilkenny. The Dublin and Manorhamilton locations will undertake human resource processes, while finance will have a shared services operation located in Kilkenny.

The National Human Resources Shared Services Centre will be responsible for providing HR services, including recruitment, superannuation and personnel administration across the entire Executive. Work of this nature is currently being migrated from a local level to these centralised offices. Work that the Executive deems unsuitable for this National Office, will be undertaken at HSE Area level in HR Departments located in Cork, Tullamore, Galway and Kells. The HSE believes that this approach will contribute towards greater efficiency and less duplication in the delivery of practices through the streamlining of key HR processes. The HSE has informed me that, as a result of this consolidation of work, the recruitment and superannuation functions currently based at the sites in St. Canice's Hospital and Kilcreene Hospital, Kilkenny, referred to by the Deputy, will, in time, be delivered from this HR shared services centres.

The HSE have established a national joint working group comprised of HSE management and trade union officials with an independent chairperson, which oversees this national shared services project and full consultation will occur with staff as and when the implementation plan is full developed. As per previous agreements, every HSE employee working in Human Resource services will be accommodated in the location where they are currently employed and will fill vacancies locally.