Vol. 571 No. 1
144 Mr. Deasy asked the Minister for Finance the position regarding the proposed programme of decentralisation; the approximate timescale involved in the process; if the process will take five years or ten years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20935/03]
203 Mr. Penrose asked the Minister for Finance the position regarding the Government's proposed decentralisation programme; when the programme will begin; the proposed timeframe for the completion of the programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20765/03]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 144 and 203 together.
As I have said previously, the Government remains committed to moving forward the progressive decentralisation of Government offices and agencies. The process of reaching a decision on a major initiative such as a new programme of decentralisation involves careful consideration of a wide range of important issues. Among the considerations are the many submissions received by my Department on behalf of towns around the country, the concerns of departmental management, which wishes to maintain effective and efficient delivery of services, and staff concerns about their futures. The Government must also take account of the national spatial strategy. The deliberative process is ongoing. Given the wide range of considerations and the complexity of such a major initiative, I consider it appropriate for the Government to take its time over its deliberations before reaching a final decision on the matter. The Deputies will appreciate that until that final decision is reached, I am not in a position to say when the programme of decentralisation will commence or how long it will take to implement.
Does the Minister agree that his well-established capacity for taking difficult decisions is being discredited by his failure to do so in respect of decentralisation? Is it not true that he indicated that he would have a radical decentralisation programme in place by the end of 2000? The Minister is now saying, three years later, that he needs to consult more people before he takes a decision. When does he believe that a decision will be taken? When will enough consultation and consideration have been completed to allow us to see exactly what the Minister proposes? He seemed quite happy to make decisions in the absence of a spatial strategy for a long time. People are becoming exhausted as a result of the Minister's dithering on this issue. I ask him to give us a clear timescale relating to when he will take these decisions.
Although the Deputy said he likes the fact that I take radical decisions, he did not say that he likes the radical decisions in question. Deputies are aware that I would have liked to have completed the process of decentralisation some time ago. It is not in my nature to delay things for too long, but a wide variety of considerations must be taken into account. Those involved in this process include every politician in this House and many people outside it. We have received over 120 applications from various towns and centres of population throughout the country. A day does not go by during which we do not receive further representations. I am reminded of decentralisation in every part of the country that I visit. It is a matter of considerable interest to Deputies on all sides of the House, including my colleagues in Government. I hope to dispense with this matter in the near future.
Does the Minister anticipate that the announcement, which will put the committees that have worked so actively to make proposals in respect of 120 towns out of their misery, will be made before or after the European and local elections? We have heard the answer the Minister gave today in this Chamber on four or five occasions and we know it off by heart. The Minister is probably aware that many industrial jobs have been lost so far this year in towns such as Kells. The requests for the benefits of the proposed decentralisation programme, being made on behalf of many towns, have an added poignancy in the cases of towns that have suffered many job losses. Is the Government saving the announcement as a sweetener to be used in advance of the European and local elections, or will the announcement be made after the elections?
The Deputy mentioned a number of matters, including the question of the criteria that should be used. I have steadfastly refused to state that there will be a single set of criteria, as a wide variety of considerations will be borne in mind before a decision is made. Regardless of the extent of the decentralisation programme that I announce, there will be far more disappointed people than people who are pleased.
Of course. Will the announcement be made before the local and European elections?
I will do everything I can to assist the Labour Party's campaign.
Rather than blaming the applicant towns, would it not be better for the Minister to come clean and advise us that the real discomfort arises from the competing interests of Ministers? Is it not the case that the real disappointment will be felt by those who are competing in this way? This issue will come before the Joint Committee on Finance and the Public Service tomorrow. We have heard the Minister use words such as "shortly" and "soon" regarding this issue on many occasions in this Chamber. Is it possible that the announcement will be made as soon as tomorrow?
Funnily enough, I do not think that a decision will be made before tomorrow
Would the Minister like to speak about his Government colleagues?
I would not like to be too specific.
Would the Minister like to come before the committee tomorrow?
I do not anticipate that I will be there.
Regardless of the thousands of representations the Minister may have received from around the country, does he not agree that the national spatial strategy is rapidly becoming an irrelevant document? Does he feel that it is becoming more irrelevant as time elapses? Irreversible planning decisions, which are not consistent with the spatial strategy, are being made each day by local authorities, as well as by the State under the national development plan. Further delays are making a farce of the spatial strategy.
The primary responsibility for the national spatial strategy rests with my colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.
Lucky for the Minister.
When the Minister talks about decentralisation, is he aware that in the Cork area, whereas previously we could ring the Revenue Commissioners in Sullivan's Quay, all calls must now be directed to Dublin? Is this decentralisation? The same applies to the ESB. All calls to the ESB from Mallow, Fermoy and Tralee must go to Cork city and callers spend half the day waiting to speak to an operator. Is that decentralisation? We are talking about centralisation. Will the Minister do something about that?
The matters to which the Deputy refers strike me as relating to efficient management of organisations and having nothing to do with decentralisation of Government Departments.
