Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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Question 104: To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will provide details on the amount spent by him on the public service decentralisation programme since the announcement of the plans in December 2003; if he will provide details in respect of the locations to which his Department and relevant agencies have relocated either in part or in full; the number of positions which were successfully relocated under the programme in his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36465/11]

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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The Government recently announced (17th November, 2011) that the Decentralisation Programme should be cancelled in the light of the budgetary and staffing outlook. Those projects where there is no permanent accommodation or advance party in place are to be cancelled. Details of the cancelled projects, together with the moves involved, are set out at Table 1.

Projects for which permanent accommodation has been provided and to which staffing assignments are substantially completed are to be left in situ, to be managed in the same way as other regionally based offices and Departments. Details of these projects and the staff moved are set out at Table 2.

My Department will review, in liaison with the OPW and the relevant Departments, the viability and future prospects of the remainder of the projects, having regard to the current budgetary and staffing constraints affecting the public service generally. I will bring proposals to Government later this year in relation to these. These projects include those where temporary accommodation has been provided, and some others that have business/operational effectiveness issues that require further consideration. The majority of these projects were decentralised as viable/stand alone units and moved in accordance with detailed implementation plans. Details of these projects and the moves involved are set out at Table 3.

The 2009 Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) includes an audit of property management under the decentralisation programme. This report identified capital expenditure on the Programme of 289.4 million euro on property and recurring costs (leases) of 7 million euro (as at April 2010). Dublin property disposals were 356m euro and leases with an annual value of 10m euro over the same period were surrendered. Non-property costs in the order of 30m euro were incurred, including the costs of decentralising offices and the OPW's spend on dedicated staffing for the programme.

The figures provided have not been updated since April 2010 as there has been very little activity on the Programme since then, due to the deferral for budgetary reasons in October 2008 of the implementation of the elements of the programme remaining to be completed at that time. My Department has asked the OPW and others to provide details to it on the additional property costs in respect of the period from April 2010 up to the cancellation of the programme, as well as details of any additional disposals made. It has also sought information from Departments on the non-property costs for the same period, which may need to take account of the need to reattribute some costs to reflect the changes in Ministerial responsibilities since February of this year. The relevant information will be sent directly to the Deputy when it becomes available.

Table 1

Decentralisation Projects cancelled

Projects with no accommodation or staff in situ

Table 2

Decentralisation Projects to be left in situ or advanced

Projects where permanent accommodation is completed, or due to be completed shortly

Projects where permanent accommodation is completed, or due to be completed shortly

Table 3

Decentralisation Projects to be reviewed*

* The projects to be reviewed include some where permanent accommodation has been provided but where there are staffing shortfalls or business/operational effectiveness issues that require consideration. In such cases there will be some overlap of the staff moved figures with those included in Table 2.

** The Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (47 staff) were subsequently allocated some of the space provided for BIM.

*** To review HQ designation only