Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Question 107: To ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism if he is satisfied that the decentralisation of his Department has been a successful initiative; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37434/09]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism was designated for relocation to Killarney, Co. Kerry, under the Government's Decentralisation Programme, which was announced in the 2004 Budget. The Department, excluding the National Archives, was designated an "early mover" by the Decentralisation Implementation Group.

A key objective in implementing the Government decision was to manage the organisational challenge while continuing to deliver a quality customer service to the Department's key stakeholders and customers. In order to meet the needs of new staff transferring into the Department, a comprehensive training plan was put in place, which was regularly reviewed and revised. Procedures Manuals were also prepared in the financial area and in the case of the Department's major capital programmes.

To specifically address the potential loss of institutional memory, the transfer of staff into the Department was planned carefully and carried out on a phased basis over a number of years with appropriate training given to new staff as required. The Department continued to operate successfully and at full capacity throughout the process.

To date, 79 members of staff (including two service officers who were recruited locally) have relocated to the new purpose built offices which opened last December in Killarney. In order to provide an efficient and effective service to its stakeholders including the Minister, Minister of State and the Houses of the Oireachtas, particularly when the Dail is in session, 20 posts were identified as requiring a predominantly Dublin presence while officers in those posts also spend periods of time in Killarney. In addition, extensive use is made of the video-conferencing facilities in the Department and every effort is made to co-ordinate and "cluster" meetings in order to keep the need for travel between the two locations to a minimum.

I believe that the Department has managed the process well and has continued to operate successfully and at full capacity at all times.