Lucinda Creighton (Dublin South East, Fine Gael)
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Question 455: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if senior officials of his Department, including the Secretary General, will be located in a decentralised office or in Dublin. [9797/09]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The Government decision in relation to the decentralisation of my Department is that the headquarters will move to Portlaoise. In 2004 the Department of Finance requested each Secretary General to discuss the question of decentralisation with their senior officers at Assistant Secretary level. Since then vacancies at this level in my Department are being filled by the Top Level Appointments Committee (TLAC) on the basis that the successful candidate will decentralise at the appropriate time.

I do not consider it appropriate to indicate the preferences of individual officers in the Department, but I can say that I am confident that there will be a sufficient cadre of people at this level to provide continuity of leadership and management experience as the decentralisation programme proceeds. This will include senior management being located in decentralised offices; already the Assistant Secretary with responsibility for Fisheries has moved to Clonakilty.