Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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Question 256: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government when his Department will be fully decentralised to County Wexford; the number of people decentralised to date; the sections in his Department that have moved; when advertising will begin for staff; the date he expects that these offices will be operating in the new premises; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15797/08]

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick East, Fine Gael)
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Question 262: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of new persons transferred from Dublin under the decentralisation programme since 1 January 2008; and the number of persons transferred under this programme as at the current date. [16130/08]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 256 and 262 together.

Under the decentralisation programme, all Dublin based operations of my Department are being decentralised, with the exception of Met Éireann, ENFO and a small co-ordination section which it is proposed to retain in Dublin to assist with the Department's Dáil and other business. A total of 682 Dublin based posts will be transferred to four locations in the South East: Wexford (270 posts); Waterford (225 posts); New Ross (125 posts) and Kilkenny (62 posts).

The Department's new Headquarters in Wexford is under construction and is expected to be completed by end December 2008. The accommodation will be ready for occupation from the end of January 2009 and the Department will then transfer the 270 staff into these offices, commencing in Q1 2009 with full occupation completed in the course of the year. An advance office has been operational in Wexford since 25 June, 2007 and it currently has 46 staff assigned to it. The following 9 sub-units are located in this office- Environment Policy, Local Services, Heritage Policy, Waste Policy: Prevention and Recovery, Water Quality, Information Communications Technology (ICT), Corporate Development, Personnel and Urban and Village Development.

The Department is currently in the process of filling the 270 posts required for the Wexford Headquarters and is confident that all of the staff will be available for transfer in 2009. There is likely to be some local recruitment of a small number of services officers.