Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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44. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if she will confirm that there will be no change to the status of her Department's offices in Ballybay, County Monaghan; that the work undertaken and services provided from this office will remain in Ballybay; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4221/15]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Twenty nine staff occupying two adjoining buildings on Main St. in Ballybay, Co. Monaghan were redeployed from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to the Department of Social Protection in July 2012. The staff are engaged in the processing of the Public Services Card. The operations have recently been expanded to include eight additional temporary staff and unfortunately the current facilities are not considered appropriate for the existing business processes or to accommodate the recently expanded operation.

I am advised that the Office of Public Works have investigated all of the options in Ballybay and have inspected a number of properties, with a view to adapting a number of buildings to meet the Department of Social Protection's requirements. The position is that a significant investment would be required to bring the proposed properties up to modern standards. In addition, other technical surveys and reports, planning permission, fire certification and physical works would take approximately one year to complete. Unfortunately, this timeframe is not commensurate with the Department's business requirements and the need to establish a Public Service Card Centre in the County, which is badly needed and is now an urgent requirement. Consequently, neither my officials, nor the OPW, consider that the properties on offer in Ballybay could meet the requirements in terms of both cost and time and a decision has been made to move the current facilities to Monaghan Town and combine it with a public, customer facing facility to serve the people of Monaghan.