Written answers

Tuesday, 13 December 2016

Department of Social Protection

Departmental Staff Redeployment

Photo of Marc MacSharryMarc MacSharry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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270. To ask the Minister for Social Protection further to the re-recentralisation of the information section of the Department of Social Protection, the costs associated with such a move in terms of new unit establishment in Dublin, for recruitment, training and redeployment. [40169/16]

Photo of Marc MacSharryMarc MacSharry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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271. To ask the Minister for Social Protection his Department's rationale for the re-centralisation of an entire unit of his Department, the information section; if Cabinet approval was sought and given in this case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40170/16]

Photo of Marc MacSharryMarc MacSharry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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343. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if the Cabinet approved the re-centralisation of the information section of his Department from Sligo back to Dublin; if so, the basis on which; and if not, the reason therefor. [40162/16]

Photo of Marc MacSharryMarc MacSharry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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344. To ask the Minister for Social Protection when he or the Cabinet devolved powers to enable the re-centralisation of the information section of his Department to the Secretary General and other officials within his Department (details supplied). [40163/16]

Photo of Marc MacSharryMarc MacSharry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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345. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the body of work to be decentralised or transferred to Sligo to facilitate the 32 persons who, heretofore, have worked within the information section of his Department that will now be redeployed. [40164/16]

Photo of Marc MacSharryMarc MacSharry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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346. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if, in view of the re-centralisation of the information section back to Dublin from Sligo and his Department's stated position that each of the 32 individuals working within it in Sligo will be redeployed within the departmental office in Sligo, the positions these persons will take up; if it is it to existing and future vacancies in his Department; if so, if this will mean that any transfer request to Sligo from within the Civil Service or external applications for jobs within his Department will only be dealt with after the 32 former information section workers in Sligo are placed; if the 32 positions that exist in the departmental office in Sligo will cease to exist; if the 32 persons displaced by this re-centralisation require training to enable redeployment; and if so, the costs associated with this. [40165/16]

Photo of Marc MacSharryMarc MacSharry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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347. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the precise costs associated with the re-establishment of hisDepartment's information section in Dublin following its recentralisation from Sligo back to Dublin; the recruitment costs associated with it; and the training costs which will be incurred. [40166/16]

Photo of Leo VaradkarLeo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 270, 271, 343 to 347, inclusive, together.

At the outset it is very important to note that no jobs will be leaving Sligo rather staff will be reassigned roles within the area.

The Department of Social Protection is responsible for the administration of 70 separate schemes and services at a cost of some €20 billion a year, which affect the lives of almost every person in the State. As the nature of our business changes, the organisation must adapt and structure itself in the most efficient way for effective service delivery. Functions move between locations in the Department to deal with business efficiencies.

A number of elements of the Communications and Customer Services functions are being brought together within a new unit in Dublin. One of the consequences of this reorganisation is that over the coming months 25 staff in the information section Sligo will transition to other important roles in the area. Government approval is not required for such internal reorganisations.

Sligo is a key location for Departments Services with 654 staff located there. The Department's office in College Road in Sligo administers national schemes including State and other Pensions, Household Benefits, the School Meals Programme and Supplementary Welfare Allowance Policy. Since 2013 the Department's office in College Road has taken on all of the following additional functions - administering the deduction at source facility from welfare benefits for Local Property Tax, payments to the women under the Magdalen Commission Scheme and the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance (BSCFA). The administration of the BSCFA in Sligo, since 2015, involves the recruitment of some 50 staff, mainly local, for a period of up to 6 months. More recently payment of the Water Conservation Grant was administered from the Sligo Offices. The Department also has an Intreo Centre in Sligo, located at Cranmore Road.

The change to Information section location is in no way a diminution in the Department’s regional office structure; 65% of the Department’s 6,300 staff are located outside of Dublin. Sligo was among the first locations within the Department selected for decentralisation, with 450 posts earmarked to decentralise to Sligo in 1989. A further seven successful decentralisation initiatives have followed, with staff and schemes areas administered from Letterkenny, Buncrana, Roscommon, Longford, Dundalk and Waterford.

Within the Department, the movement of staff between roles is ongoing and actively managed to allow the Department respond to changing demands while promoting staff development and better succession planning. Such moves, including the movement of staff from Information Section to other business areas, are supported where necessary by the provision of training and other supports. Other than such costs, the staff changes mentioned will incur no additional cost to the Exchequer. The transfer of staff between locations, whether by way of internal or external transfer lists or redeployment will continue to take place in accordance with all relevant agreements.

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