Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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Question 10: To ask the Minister for Finance the reason the Revenue Commissioners are taking steps to close the Revenue Commissioners office in Mullingar, County Westmeath; if this decision will be reviewed and reversed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23466/09]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that their office in Mullingar is not a public office and therefore its closure will not have any service implications for the people of Westmeath. Service for the people of Westmeath is and will continue to be available through the Athlone office, the VRO in Tullamore and via the locall 1890 service. Revenue's Border Midlands West Region has the largest geographical spread of all Revenue regions. The number of small offices located in this region is a legacy of the prior existence of small Customs and Excise stations or Vehicle Registration Offices, which are no longer needed in the context of Revenue's modern service delivery. Generally, only limited services are delivered from these small offices and, in the case of Mullingar, these services are not specific to the town. The functions can be carried out equally well at our other larger offices without any diminution of service.

Revenue has an obligation to address the question of the proper use and management of resources, particularly given the current economic circumstances. In that context, the functions carried out in the Mullingar office have been reviewed and it has been established that there is an overriding business case to integrate these functions into other nearby Revenue locations. The decision has therefore been taken that the reasonable option is to close the Mullingar office and to move the functions and the small number of staff concerned to the Athlone office. I am satisfied that in the context of managing with reduced numbers and of making effective use of resources, the consolidation of the Mullingar office into Athlone is reasonable, represents more efficient use of staff resources and office infrastructure and will not cause any difficulty for customers in the county.