There have been a number of developments in recent months regarding the decentralisation of the head office of the Legal Aid Board to Cahirciveen.
The site for the new head office building has been purchased. The Office of Public Works is currently analysing tender documentation received from contractors to design and build the new premises and I expect that a decision will be made very shortly in this regard.
Both staff and their representative unions are being kept fully informed of all developments in relation to the proposed move to Cahirciveen. I understand that management has also advised the unions that any request from them for discussion on matters arising from the transfer will be promptly facilitated.
The proposed number of staff to be located in Cahirciveen is 39 but when account is taken of the staff at dual locations, the total number of staff working from the Cahirciveen base will be 42. I am not prepared to depart from the normal practice of not disclosing the precise numbers and grades of those who do not have an interest in transferring to Cahirciveen, lest those who have expressed such a wish be identified. However, a number of staff serving in the Legal Aid Board have expressed an interest in transferring to Caherciveen and others have indicated an interest in moving in the event of promotional opportunities becoming available. Staff of the board who do not wish to move to Cahirciveen will be redeployed throughout the Civil Service to take the places of those civil servants who successfully apply for decentralised positions in Cahirciveen.
As regards recruitment the position is that the Legal Aid Board, in accordance with normal decentralisation procedures, requested the Department of Finance to issue an interdepartmental circular seeking applications from persons throughout the Civil Service who would be willing to transfer to the Legal Aid Board for permanent transfer to Cahirciveen. Following prior consultation with the relevant staff unions that circular issued last June. Within a month the board received a very satisfactory response and is currently in the process of recruiting staff who have applied to transfer to Cahirciveen. Some officers have already transferred to the board and further transfers will take place over the coming months. The Deputy will appreciate that at this early stage in the proceedings it is not possible to give any indication of whether it will be necessary to recruit new staff. However, I expect that this information will become apparent towards the latter part of the current recruitment process.
