Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 114: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism the number of persons who have been moved by his Department and its agencies to date; the percentage this represents of the original target; and if he will provide in tabular form, for each of the locations, the staff who have been moved, the staff who have been assigned but not moved and the number of staff originally designated for a move but who opted to stay in Dublin who have been assigned new duties. [26464/08]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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Following the announcement of the Government's decentralisation programme in the 2004 Budget, the Department, which has a staff of 130 excluding the National Archives, was designated an "early mover" by the Decentralisation Implementation Group (DIG). To date, 77 members of staff have relocated to temporary accommodation in Fossa, Killarney, in three tranches, 45 in September 2006, 25 in July 2007 and 7 in May and June 2008. This represents 59% of the original target.

A further 8 staff have been assigned to posts in the Department in Dublin which will transfer in due course to the Department's new headquarters in Killarney. Of the staff in the Department who originally indicated their willingness to relocate, four have opted to stay in Dublin. Such staff will transfer to other Departments remaining in Dublin.

No staff from the State Agencies under the aegis of my Department, namely the Irish Sports Council, the Arts Council and Fáilte Ireland, have yet decentralised to any of the three designated locations, Killarney, Kilkenny or Mallow. Although these agencies have not been designated as "early movers" they have decentralisation implementation plans in place that are under constant review. The Office of Public Works (OPW) is currently assessing a number of options in respect of suitable locations and properties for these agencies in their designated locations.

The following table outlines the current position in respect of my Department and its Agencies.