Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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Question 201: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the annual costs incurred by her Department in the implementation of the decentralisation scheme for each of the past four years, broken down between property and non-property costs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35553/08]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The Office of Public Works (OPW) has primary responsibility for the procurement of suitable accommodation for both the advance and permanent re-location of decentralising Departments, including my Department's staff to Carlow.

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 30 2007. It is my understanding from the OPW that the yearly rental costs for this office is in the region of €369,000 and the fit-out costs were approximately €2,068,000.

With regard to the property costs for the Department's permanent move to Carlow, the OPW completed the purchase of a site in Carlow town centre for the construction of my Department's permanent office and I understand from the OPW that the site acquisition costs were €1,440,000.

With regard to non-property decentralisation costs incurred to date, the most recent figures for such costs for my Department, as submitted to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance and the Public Service, via the Department of Finance, relates to the period January 2004 to June 2008. The following is the yearly breakdown:

2004 — €128

2005 — €1,074

2006 — €98,795

2007 — €217,230

2008 to end-June — €4,400

Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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Question 202: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the progress made by her Department on implementing the decentralisation scheme, including the number of staff who have moved under the scheme and the property bought or rented outside Dublin under the scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35568/08]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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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)

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 30 2007. This office is situated on O'Brien Road and is currently being leased by the OPW on behalf of the Department.

The number of staff in this decentralised advance office is 100. As well as staff already decentralised, there are 48 staff within my Department due to decentralise when the substantive move takes place, with a further 47 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 13 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 formal application for planning permission was lodged with Carlow Town Council on 18 April 2008 and planning permission, with conditions, was granted on 12 June 2008 subject to appeal. The Office of Public Works has since advised that two objections lodged against the planning permission have been referred to An Bord Pleanála. An Bord Pleanála website indicates that the appeal cases are due to be decided by 10 November 2008.