Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 293: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if he will provide, in tabular form, the number of civil servants awaiting transfer to locations within the Laois/Offaly area, including Roscrea; if these transfers are affected by the moratorium on recruitment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27075/09]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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My Department has two main locations outside of Dublin, in Athlone and Tullamore, which were in existence prior to the announcement of the Decentralisation Programme in 2003. As you are aware, offices of the Department of Finance decentralised to Tullamore providing the primary opportunity for officers to move to that location under the Government's Decentralisation programme. Under the Central Applications Facility (CAF) protocols, vacancies in existing decentralised locations may only be filled from CAF, as staff already in that location accept an offer under CAF to decentralise to another location. To date, 16 officers have transferred to my Department's office in Tullamore under the CAF.

I understand from the Public Appointments Service that there are currently 43 CAF applicants seeking to transfer to the Department of Education and Science in Tullamore. Prior to the moratorium of March 2009, these officers would have been considered for transfer to this Department as serving officers in Tullamore decentralised to other locations. While the moratorium does not allow Departments/Offices to fill posts by recruitment or promotion, lateral transfers between locations under the CAF may proceed, as resources permit.