Vol. 577 No. 5
61 Ms McManus asked the Minister for Finance the accommodation planned and the timeframe for relocation to Arklow, County Wicklow in view of the decision to decentralise 140 public servants to Arklow; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31739/03]
I am determined that action is taken immediately to start implementing the decentralisation programme. I have appointed an implementation committee to drive the process forward and a joint Department of Finance and Office of Public Works unit is being established to support the implementation committee and to liaise with the Departments involved. The committee has been asked to provide a detailed implementation plan by the end of March 2004.
Each Minister is expected to take responsibility for that part of the programme which relates to his or her Department, including the agencies which come within his or her remit. In order to ensure that the programme can proceed without delay, I have provided an additional €20 million in my Department's Vote to meet any up-front investment required in 2004.
62 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for Finance the specific decisions taken by the Government in relation to the steps in the decentralisation process that were announced by him in his Budget Statement; the dates of those decisions; if those decisions included an allocation of specific Departments and other public bodies to specific locations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31740/03]
It is not normal practice to disclose records of Government meetings, discussions and decisions. However, I assure the Deputy that I had the prior approval of the Government for the new programme of decentralisation which I announced in my budget speech on 3 December 2003.
63 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for Finance the powers available to him and the Government to secure the relocation of public bodies other than Departments of State; if he envisages a possible conflict between the securing of his relocation objectives and compliance by directors and others in positions of responsibility with their statutory duties; if so, the way in which that conflict might be resolved; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31741/03]
The powers available to Ministers and the Government vary from body to body and depend, among other factors, on the statutory context in each case. The decentralisation programme will be implemented in a manner which is consistent with any statutory or other legal obligations of directors, as well as the duties of other persons in positions of responsibility in the bodies concerned. Accordingly, I do not anticipate that it will give rise to any conflict of the type mentioned by the Deputy.
64 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for Finance if his Department's guidelines for the appraisal and management of capital expenditure proposals in the public sector applied or will apply to relocation decisions; if so, the way in which; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31742/03]
In implementing the Government's decentralisation programme, Departments and agencies will be required to adhere, as appropriate, to my Department's guidelines for the appraisal and management of capital expenditure proposals for the public service. The overall objective in so far as property management is concerned is to ensure that property being acquired at regional level is matched over time in cost terms by disposal of property currently held in the Dublin region. The implementation committee is being asked to oversee the production of a plan by the Office of Public Works by the end of March 2004 to give effect to this objective.
65 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for Finance the process of consultation that led to the choice of specific Departments and other bodies for specific locations, indicating the extent of consultation with the management and staff of the bodies in question; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31743/03]
I first announced in my Budget Statement in December 1999 that the Government intended to proceed with a new, more radical, programme of decentralisation. Following the announcement, there was extensive consultation with interested parties which included meetings at official level between the Department of Finance and other Departments and with each of the Civil Service staff unions. There was also a meeting between the staff unions and me the purpose of which, generally, was to hear the latter's views and concerns. The strategic management initiative implementation group of secretaries general provided advice, at the request of the Government, on how implementation of the new programme could enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the public service. Heads of relevant Departments provided views, at the request of the Government, on the experience of their respective Departments with the previous programme of decentralisation. A major public service union provided advice, in response to an invitation from me, on the development of criteria for the programme.
66 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for Finance the mechanisms established by his Department to ensure and demonstrate that its policies and plans, including the decentralisation plan, are consistent with the national spatial strategy; the extent to which full account was taken of that strategy in moving forward the progressive decentralisation of Government offices and public bodies, as required by paragraph 6.1.2 of the strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31744/03]
The Government had to take account of and balance a wide range of factors in selecting suitable locations for the new decentralisation programme which I announced on budget day. Of these, one involved the need to achieve a fit with the national spatial strategy. Some 2,650 of the approximately 9,000 jobs in respect of which decisions have already been made are moving to gateways and hubs identified in the national spatial strategy. With six of the hubs identified under the national spatial strategy benefiting from the new decentralisation programme and two of the remainder already having decentralised offices, the hubs are offered the opportunity to build on the key role envisaged for them under the strategy.
The strategy also identified the need to strengthen county towns and other medium sized towns. Almost all of the locations included in the programme are explicitly mentioned in section 4 of the strategy which outlines how each region will participate in its evolution. The relocation of public service employment to towns such as these underpins the important role which many of them must continue to play into the future.
