Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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Question 211: To ask the Minister for Transport the position regarding progress and future plans on the decentralisation programme in respect of Drogheda. [24937/08]

Noel Dempsey (Meath West, Fianna Fail)
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As part of the Efficiency Review announced by the Minister for Finance last December, my Department reviewed proposals to locate 37 posts in Drogheda and concluded that decentralising accident investigation and certain other safety functions to bring the numbers up to the total requirement of 37 for Drogheda offers very good potential for operational efficiencies, the exploitation of synergies and value for money. With that in mind, I decided that the Air Accident Investigation Unit of my Department, the Railway Accident Investigation Unit within the Railway Safety Commission, and the Marine Casualty Investigation Board should be located together. The Government has recently accepted, as part of its decentralisation programme, that Drogheda should be the location for these functions. The immediate priority is to secure a suitable location, and this work is being undertaken by the Office of Public Works.