Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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Question 390: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if senior officials of his Department, including the Secretary General, will be located at a decentralised office or in Dublin. [9804/09]

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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The decentralisation of my Department's Headquarters (HQ) to Wexford is proceeding as planned. The construction of the Headquarters is expected to be completed and the building handed over to my Department by end April, 2009. Following ICT and furniture fit-out, the transfer of staff into the building will take place on a phased basis thereafter. It is expected that the Department's new headquarters in Wexford will be operational from early summer 2009. Fourteen Principal Officers and their respective Business Units will be located in Wexford on a full-time basis from that date.

The other phases of the Department's decentralisation to the South East have been deferred pending Government review in 2011. Therefore, the majority of the Department's Business Units will remain in Dublin in the medium term. In this period the Department's Management Advisory Committee (Secretary General and Assistant Secretary) will work in Dublin and Wexford as business requirements determine. There will be a regular MAC presence in Wexford ensuring the ongoing business of the Department continues to be effectively managed.