The Government decision on the decentralisation of my Department is that the headquarters will move to Portlaoise (involving some 600 staff); the local offices in Cork city will move to Fermoy (involving up to 100 staff); and the laboratories in Cork and Limerick will move to Macroom (again involving up to 100 staff).
My Department's Decentralisation Implementation plan provides for a phased movement to Portlaoise i.e. the transfer of functions and posts over a number of years. The 2005 and 2006 phases of Decentralisation are now complete and planning and preparation are ongoing for the remainder of 2007 and subsequent phases. To the end of June 2007 some 116 posts have moved to Portlaoise from Dublin across a range of Divisions such as Accommodation Division, Management Services Division, Meat Hygiene and Animal By-Products, Meat Policy, Milk Policy, Crop Policy, Personnel, Health and Safety, Corporate Affairs, Finance Division and Economics and Planning. Some staff from Inspectorate Divisions have also moved. In total there has been an increase of some 200 full time posts in Portlaoise since early 2004 which includes additional staff assigned to new posts in the newly introduced Single Payment Scheme (SPS).
Overall there are currently over 400 of my Department's staff in Portlaoise. Implementation Plans for Fermoy and Macroom are also in place and the recruitment process for Fermoy has begun.