Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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Question 55: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the progress made to date with regard to the implementation of the programme of decentralisation in respect of his Department and State bodies under the aegis of his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16574/08]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Department Decentralisation

My Department has been making good progress in the relocation of the required 250 posts to Carlow under the Government's Decentralisation Programme. The following business units/Offices of my Department are earmarked for decentralisation:

Companies Registration Office/Registry of Friendly Societies

National Employment Rights Authority (NERA)

Work Permits

Redundancy Payments Section

Insolvency Payments Section

Officials of my Department, in consultation with the Department of Finance and the OPW, as well as decentralising staff and Business Units opened an advance office in Carlow on July 30th 2007. The number of posts in this decentralised advance office is 100.

As well as staff already decentralised, there are 48 staff within my Department due to decentralise in the substantive move scheduled for 2009, with a further 37 Carlow-bound applicants yet to be assigned from other Departments. With regard to the property side of the Department's move, the OPW completed the purchase of a site in Carlow town centre for the construction of my Department's permanent office in Carlow. My colleague Minister of State Noel Ahern TD, announced on 13th December 2007 that the OPW has invited The Macquarie Partnership as the consortium to become the 'Successful Tenderer' in respect of this decentralisation project. This forms part of a major PPP project, which also involves the provision of office accommodation for the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in Portlaoise and the Department of Education and Science in Mullingar.

The OPW has advised my Department that the formal application for planning permission was lodged with Carlow Town Council on Friday 18th April 2008. I am hopeful, subject to no planning issues arising, that the completion of construction of the permanent office will be in late 2009.

Agency Decentralisation

Under the Government Decentralisation Programme, announced in December 2003, six of the Agencies under the aegis of my Department are due to decentralise or have already been decentralised, as follows:

FÁS

Under the Government's decentralisation programme, FÁS is due to transfer its head office including some 383 posts to Birr, County Offaly. FÁS has completed the purchase of 5.59 acres (approximately) in Birr, Co Offaly. A Planning Application for the FÁS portion of the site access road and site entrance is currently being progressed on behalf of FÁS by the vendor's Consultant Engineers and Architects, in discussion with the Consulting Engineers and Architects representing FÁS. In the meantime, since 6 May 2007 FÁS has leased a floor of a building within the Birr Technology Centre to accommodate staff in the decentralised location pending the construction and fitting out of a permanent Headquarters.

Enterprise Ireland

Enterprise Ireland (EI) is to move 300 posts to Shannon under the decentralisation programme. Progress on the full transfer of EI's HQ to Shannon, within the Government decentralisation programme, will be influenced by factors (many external to EI) such as the level of interest in the Shannon location expressed by CAF applicants and by progress made in discussions at a central level on various issues central to Agency decentralisation. EI's latest understanding is that there are 7 internal applicants interested in moving to Shannon. None of these has yet re-located.

In parallel with the decentralisation programme, EI has been strengthening its regional focus in recent years. EI now has a major new presence in the Shannon region in addition to its nine other regional offices. In July 2007 EI officially opened its new National Regional Development Headquarters in Shannon and has based the new County Enterprise Support Unit there. Currently there are 40 staff working in the new Shannon office and it is expected that approximately 65 EI staff will be in place there over the coming months. EI has leased high-spec office space in Westpark, Shannon, to accommodate this new Regional HQ.

In terms of acquiring a building, Enterprise Ireland, working closely with the Office of Public Works (OPW) has identified, but not yet acquired, a preferred site for the construction of a suitably sized new HQ building in Shannon. The preferred site is a 13-acre site owned by Shannon Development. In co-operation with Shannon Development and the OPW, the site was valued and a feasibility study carried out. The site occupies a prime position in Shannon and is considered suitable for a major landmark building or civic structure.

Health and Safety Authority

The Health and Safety Authority is to move 110 posts to Thomastown, Co Kilkenny as part of the decentralisation programme. To date a total of 65 civil and public servants, including 12 Authority staff, have expressed an interest through the Central Application Facility (CAF) process in transferring to Thomastown.

In advance of decentralising to Thomastown, the Authority established an interim office in Kilkenny city. Currently, 27 staff, including 3 of the 12 internal HSA Thomastown applicants, are based in Kilkenny; it also includes new staff recruited for the REACH (Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals) strategy. All staff currently accommodated in the interim office will move to Thomastown once the new premises are ready for occupation.

The Commissioners of Public Works have signed a contract for sale in respect of the site in Thomastown. A condition of the contract is that the vendor obtains the appropriate zoning for the site so that the Commissioners' planned development can take place. The required change of zoning has now been granted and the sale should close shortly.

When the purchase is completed, expressions of interest for the design and build phase, will be invited from interested parties. It will be a matter for the successful tenderer to apply for planning permission at that stage. The current estimated timeline for availability for occupancy is 2009/2010.

NSAI

Under the Government's decentralisation programme the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) is due to relocate to Arklow, Co. Wicklow. The number required to decentralise from the NSAI is 132. A total of 10 Dublin based staff of the NSAI have applied to decentralise to Arklow. In addition a further 86 Dublin based civil and public servants have applied for decentralisation to Arklow. No member of staff from the NSAI has transferred to Arklow to date. The accommodation requirements for the NSAI in Arklow are being addressed by the OPW. To date no progress has been made by the OPW in identifying or securing suitable office accommodation in the Arklow area. The current NSAI implementation plan anticipates a target date of April 2009 as the completion date.

National Consumer Agency (NCA)

The National Consumer Agency (NCA) was formally established on 1st May 2007 and inherited the functions of the Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs (ODCA). The Agency will have a headquarters in Cork City. The Department of Finance has granted sanction for an overall complement of 80 members of staff. It is expected that there will be a high percentage of staff turnover as many of the existing staff, who formerly worked in ODCA and are on secondment from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, return to the Department. Decentralisation plans are being progressed with a view to the Agency relocating to Cork in the course of 2009. The Agency has recently forwarded details of its accommodation requirements to the OPW.

Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority (IAASA)

In the case of the Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority (IAASA), a decision was made prior to its establishment that it would be located in Naas, Co Kildare. Having been established in December, 2005 it moved to new offices at Naas, in January 2006. All IAASA staff have been based in its offices in Naas since its establishment, and as such the Authority is fully decentralised.