Deputy Brian O'Shea gave me notice of his intention to raise on the Adjournment the decentralisation of a Government Department to Waterford City.
Adjournment Debate. - Decentralisation of Department to Waterford.
First, I would ask your permission to share some of my time with Deputy Kenneally.
Is that agreed? Agreed.
This is an issue which has grave consequences for the development of Waterford and is one about which the Waterford City Council feel exceedingly strongly. When we got word in 1987 that the decentralisation of a Government Department to Waterford was again a live issue the city council acted very promptly.
I had intended giving some of my time to Deputy Deasy but when I did not see him in the House I did not ask for permission. Can I have your permission for that too; a Cheann Comhairle?
I am sure that is agreed. Agreed.
The city council immediately bought a site which cost £78,000. It is not paid for and is being transferred to the Office of Public Works. The city council had to increase the commercial rate in order to obtain the money to buy this site. They did this willingly and indeed the commercial sector in Waterford responded because they saw how important it was to have a Government Department decentralised to Waterford. Between 1971 and 1981 Waterford lost its place in the national pecking order of cities — it dropped from fourth to fifth place — and this is a matter of great concern to us. The Regional Development Authority in 1978 commissioned Dr. Michael Bannon of UCD to carry out a survey of the area with a view to finding a way to improve the situation in the service sector in Waterford. It is often felt that Waterford is an industrial city but in fact its best days were when it had a thriving service sector. This part of our city's economy is now very weak in comparison with the industrial sector which suffered a great blow in recent years with about 1,000 jobs losses in Waterford Glass alone.
The city council have not been idle in the interim. Dr. Bannon made recommendations in terms of building up the service sector in Waterford city. For instance, he recommended that there should be an airport there. The city council acted on this and in co-operation with the trade unions and the business sector the airport became a reality and is a continuing success in the city. It has done a great deal for the region and for its development. Another recommendation was that the shopping facilities in Waterford city needed to be improved and I am glad to say that at present an £18 million shopping development is under way. Another recommendation was that pedestrianisation be undertaken in the city centre, again something with which substantial progress has been made. Indeed the Minister for the Environment, in very recent times, commented favourably on what has been achieved in Waterford regarding pedestrianisation.
The new regional hospital is also under way there. I cannot stress too strongly how important it is that the jobs that will come from the decentralisation of a Government Department should come to the city. It would certainly improve the construction industry in the short-term and the shopping development in the city which in so many ways is vitally important. Waterford has immeasurably improved its telecommunications service in the interim.
In 1984 Dr. Bannon was asked to review the position and part of his review showed that between 1971 and 1981 the service sector employment share in the region had dropped from 9.4 per cent to 8.5 per cent. Of 100,000 jobs created in the service sector nationally between 1960 and 1980, only 5 per cent came to the region. We are here to plead the case for an immediate Government decision to decentralise a Department to Waterford because it is vital to our economy and to the whole plan that is so effectively developing in the city. There is a great deal of new tourism and leisure development investment in the city. The importance of bringing a Government Department to the city cannot be over-stressed.
Firstly, I would like to thank Deputy O'Shea for allowing me the opportunity to speak on this matter. At the outset I have to say that I too am disappointed with the delay in confirming the decentralisation of a Government Department to Waterford, which obviously means that steps cannot be taken at present to identify and organise civil servants in readiness for that move. However, I am pleased that since the return of a Fianna Fáil led Government in 1987 the policy regarding decentralisation has been reactivated. The previous Fine Gael-Labour Coalition did not have a policy of decentralisation and if they had continued in power we would not have seen a Government office in Waterford in the foreseeable future.
Many reports over the last number of years, particularly the Bannon reports to which Deputy O'Shea has alluded, have highlighted the total imbalance that exists in Waterford city as regards white collar versus blue collar workers. Part of the reason for that imbalance has been that Waterford is the only county borough that does not enjoy full university status. Accordingly, Waterford in particular, and the south-eastern region in general, has suffered as a consequence. In order to correct this imbalance Waterford should have been one of the first areas designated for decentralisation. While I do not begrudge the decentralisation of Government offices to other towns or cities I believe the need for decentralisation in the south-east has been greater.
Since I became a member of Waterford Corporation in 1985 tremendous efforts have been made to try to improve and upgrade the city. Great strides have been made particularly in the city centre because of Waterford's designation for urban renewal. It was enhanced even further over the last couple of years by the provision of extra grants to beautify the city centre through the pedestrianisation of many areas, extra paving and lighting and also a more imaginative planning programme. I point this out for the benefit of the Government to assure them that when the time comes to transfer civil servants, we will not experience the same problems that arose in decentralisation to other areas where it was difficult to fill the places allocated.
A suitable site of approximately four acres is now available to Waterford Corporation and that could be quite easily transferred to the Office of Public Works within a matter of a couple of weeks, if required. The lack of a suitable site was used previously as an excuse to hold up decentralisation to Waterford. Most of the other regions in the country appear to have been favoured for decentralisation or are about to get Government offices, but again the south-eastern region appears to be losing out.
I am sorry to interrupt the Deputy but it is intended that he share the time with another Deputy. Time is fast running out and I shall have to call the appropriate Minister within two minutes.
I conclude by asking the Government to proceed with all haste to transfer the 400 promised jobs to Waterford. If ever an area was geared and ready for decentralisation, that area is Waterford.
I would also like to thank Deputy O'Shea for agreeing to share some of his time with me. I do not think we are going to make any progress in Waterford by propounding party politics. Unanimity is the password of the day and we should all be seen to work together in highlighting the fact that in Waterford we are deprived where this type of employment is concerned. We would like if the Minister could tell us tonight what Department will be transferred to Waterford; how many people will be involved and when the movement of personnel will take place?
We have had very lopsided developments in Waterford, as Deputy O'Shea has pointed out. People feel there is discrimination against Waterford and the south-east in favour of other areas, in particular the midlands and the west. They would like to see this situation redressed. Waterford has already lost out heavily in this type of employment. The South-Eastern Health Board located their headquarters in Kilkenny rather than Waterford. Recently we have seen a similar case where the local Ordnance Survey workers are being asked to transfer from Waterford to the central office in Dublin. We would like to see this trend reversed. I hope that this evening the Minister can give us some answers in this regard.
Fáiltím roimh an deis seo chun plé a dhéanamh ar chlár dílárú an Rialtais.
I welcome the opportunity to put on record the success of the Government's decentralisation programme to date. Following on the implementation of phase 1 of the programme — by the provision of Government offices at Ballina, employing 200 staff; Cavan, employing 150; Galway, employing 200; Sligo, employing 300 — the Government decided in November 1987 to expand the decentralisation programme by undertaking the phase 2 stage. The first part of this stage involved transferring 180 staff from the Department of Education to Athlone; transferring 140 staff from the Department of Justice to Killarney; and transferring 190 staff from the Department of Social Welfare to Letterkenny. I am happy to report that works are well underway at the Letterkenny and Killarney centres while work at Athlone is expected to commence in the very near future. The second stage of phase 2 encompasses a further five centres at Ennis, Limerick, Nenagh for a total of some 900 staff of the Revenue Commissioners and further centres at Dundalk and Waterford. No decision has been taken yet as to the Departments involved in relation to the transfers to Dundalk and Waterford, but it is expected that Waterford should cater for approximately 400 staff.
I should also say that the Government's decision included the proviso that where State-owned sites were not already available at the proposed centres of decentralisation, sites were to be acquired free of charge from the relevant local authorities. As there was no suitable State-owned site in Waterford, the site was sought from Waterford Corporation. Following the inspection of various sites and negotiations with the corporation, a site on the Cork road was selected, a site of some three and three quarter acres comprised of an area owned by Telecom Éireann and an adjoining site owned by the corporation. The corporation agreed to purchase the land from Telecom Éireann and to transfer it, and the area which they owned free of charge to the Office of Public Works. The land owned by Telecom Éireann was acquired by the corporation in May 1989, the title was registered in the Land Registry in February 1990 and when the corporation is released from a restrictive covenant affecting part of the site, the transfer of the entire site to the Office of Public Works can proceed.
A Department has not yet been selected for Waterford but when a Department has been nominated and their particular requirements determined, tenders will be invited from developers on the basis of a brief of the requirements. It is not possible at this stage to give an accurate forecast as to when the new offices will be provided but given the experience to date of other centres it is reckoned that the buildings should be completed within two years from the date of receipt of the brief from the selected Department.