I propose to take Questions Nos. 12 and 15 together.
My entire core Department is being transferred to Killarney. The cultural institutions – the National Museum of Ireland, the National Library of Ireland and the National Archives – which form part of my Department will remain in Dublin. Three State agencies under the aegis of my Department are also being decentralised. The Irish Sports Council will transfer to Killarney, the Arts Council to Kilkenny and Fáilte Ireland to Mallow.
A wide range of factors has been taken into account and balanced in selecting locations for the new decentralised offices. These factors include the need to achieve a fit with the national spatial strategy, in terms of the gateways, hubs and their respective catchments; the location of existing decentralised offices; the desirability of clustering a Department's decentralised units within a region; the importance of respecting the scale and character of locations in terms of their capacity to absorb the number of new jobs involved; the existence of good transport links by road, rail and air; and the general infrastructural capacity in the areas selected. There are approximately 146 staff serving in my Department, 223 in Fáilte Ireland, 45 in the Arts Council and 24 in the Irish Sports Council.
The building occupied by my Department in Kildare Street is owned by the Office of Public Works which also leases the building in South Frederick Street and the Irish Sports Council's premises in Fitzwilliam Square. The Arts Council has commercial lease arrangements with two landlords for adjacent buildings in Merrion Square. The total rent is €249,748 per annum. Termination arrangements must be negotiated for the unexpired portion of the leases, 14 and 13 years respectively, and the council is seeking professional advice in this regard.
Fáilte Ireland staff are located in office accommodation at Amiens Street, which is owned by Fáilte Ireland and which houses, in addition, a direct training centre, and in leased premises at Baggot Street Bridge and Pembroke Row which accommodate 76 and 53 staff, respectively. The rent for the premises on Baggot Street Bridge and on Pembroke Row is €345,140 per annum, with the leases due to expire in September 2060, if we are around for that, and March 2017, respectively. It is not yet clear what, if any, penalties or advantages will arise in the case of the early termination of these leases.
The Secretary General of my Department briefed departmental staff union representatives and the chief executive officers of the three agencies on the day the decentralisation programme was announced. The matter was also discussed at a meeting of the Department's partnership committee on 15 December. I was to have meetings with the chairs and chief executive officers of the three agencies on 17 December but unfortunately I had to go to a funeral in County Clare and was therefore obliged to cancel the meetings, which will take place in January. Finally, for the information of the House, Deputy Parlon was not responsible for decentralising my Department to Killarney.
