Vol. 630 No. 3
122 Mr. Hogan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he is satisfied that Ireland is well placed with other EU countries in attracting new foreign direct investment as well as meeting the challenges being experienced by certain high employment multinational companies already based here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2752/07]
The level of foreign direct investment in Ireland, relative to the size of the economy, is one of the highest in the world. Many of the world's leading overseas companies have substantial international operations in Ireland. These include companies in ICT, life sciences and international services, including financial services. Employment in IDA-assisted companies increased by 3,795 in 2006, bringing total employment to 135,487.
However, I accept that IDA Ireland faces a significant challenge in seeking to sustain, embed and increase this investment. A growing number of locations are competing for mobile investment, notably in eastern Europe and the Far East, not only on the basis of low costs but also on the basis of future market potential. In recent times, cost-sensitive projects have begun to bypass Europe for lower-cost countries such as China and India and it has to be accepted that Ireland is no longer a prime location for what might be called low-cost, low-skilled, basic manufacturing and service activities.
In responding to this challenge, IDA Ireland is focusing on the development of its client employment base into high technology, high value-added and high-skill functions in areas such as high-end manufacturing, high-end services and research and development. For some years it has focused on facilitating and encouraging existing and new FDI clients to move up the value chain into higher value-added products, functions and activities, more in tune with the competitive strengths of Ireland today.
A key factor that will impact on our ability to sustain rapid growth and high employment levels is cost competitiveness, particularly related to property and construction demand, energy costs, local authority charges and services where competition may be limited. Continued flexibility in responding to changes in both local and international economic conditions is also essential.
The new national development plan will play a crucial role in maintaining Ireland's attractiveness as an investment location. The pace of economic growth makes further investment in education critical. We need to build on our strong relative position in producing science, engineering and business graduates and reverse some of the movement away from the sciences by students in recent years. Rapid improvement in physical infrastructure is also an ongoing need, especially to support regional development. Further investment in research and development as provided for in the NDP will be a key factor in improving our competitiveness into the future.
I am confident all of these issues will be fully addressed by the national development plan and, in tandem with the policies being pursued by the Government and IDA Ireland, we will maintain the attractiveness of Ireland as a location for high-quality inward investment by the world's leading companies.
I thank the Minister for his reply and acknowledge the success of IDA Ireland over many years in bringing a high level of foreign direct investment to this country. The chairman of the Small Business Forum and the managing director of Microsoft Ireland, Joe Macri, said recently that the competitive rate of return on investment by multinational companies here has fallen from 28% in 1995 to 12% in 2003 while the rate in eastern Europe rose by 8% at the same time. Mr. Jim O'Hara, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ireland and reputable managing director of Intel wrote four days ago:
In recent years, the cost base for US companies has increased significantly and while it's clear Ireland cannot compete on cost alone, it's imperative we urgently address some of the fundamental drivers of the rapid increase in our cost base.
Are those two people right in their assessment of the economy?
I was with Mr. O'Hara yesterday at the announcement of a significant investment by Intel in a new digital health research project, the first of its kind by Intel outside the United States. This indicates the attraction of Ireland as a location for high-end research and development in areas that represent core strategic objectives of companies of the calibre of Intel. The project involves three major Irish universities, Trinity, UCD and UCG. In many ways we know that our cost base has increased and economic growth and development have had an impact on the overall cost base of the economy. That is why we must move higher up the value chain and further into the research and development space and upskill the population. The type of investment we announced yesterday with Intel will act as a further reference point to attract a similar type of high quality investment from companies of that calibre.
Last year approximately 80,000 extra jobs were created in the economy and 20,000 were lost through redundancies. We managed to win significant investments from companies such as Google, Amgen, Centocor, Servier, a French pharmaceutical company, financial services, Northern Trust and, last Monday week in Dundalk, Daiwa, a Japanese financial services company. We are concentrating on trying to win the technologies of tomorrow for Ireland and the companies that are developing them, which are high in manufacturing, services and particularly engineering, medical devices and financial services.
Is the Minister aware that in the five years to 2006 manufacturing employment has lost 32,000 jobs? There is a serious threat in that area. When will the manufacturing forum that the Minister announced in T16 be established? What timescale has he set to deal with the issues worrying manufacturers?
Have the Minister or his Department carried out an assessment of all the multinational companies which have invested in this country, taking into account their activity and employment levels and whether they have implemented some of their decisions about increasing activity and employment? Are they examining that situation with a view to changing their minds about some of those announcements? Notwithstanding what the Minister has said about key IDA Ireland backed firms which have come here and are welcome, there is an indication that our economy may be built on a bubble. We want to reassure people in the multinational sector and employees that we have a competitive cost base for the future, and I am not sure that is the case at the moment.
I must be careful because Deputy Hogan has made gloomy forecasts in the past which did not turn out as he had predicted. I commissioned a study from Forfás last year on the state of manufacturing in Ireland today vis-à-vis internationally traded services. An important outcome of that analysis was that while manufacturing jobs have been lost the yield and output from Irish manufacturing has increased.
No.
It has. I will refer the Deputy to the study which has been published. The reason is clear. As we move towards a more efficient manufacturing environment and apply technologies more effectively we will experience a loss in numbers in employment but will have a more efficient and competitive enterprise that is sustainable in the long term. We should welcome that development.
Approximately 150,000 jobs were created in high-end manufacturing in the past six to seven years and approximately 40,000 jobs were created in the area of internationally traded services. By any international standard, that is an outstanding employment record. The Deputy is correct that the challenge we face is to sustain this level of creation in the coming decade. The international arena is clearly much more competitive now than was the case ten years ago. We are witnessing the rise of significant economic powers in different parts of the world and we must box clever and play to our strengths. We must add to those strengths via targeted investments on the part of the State and by creating a flexible and adaptive labour market that can respond to the challenges that are coming down the tracks.
123 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the reasoning behind the Government’s decision to fund a redundancy package at Irish Ferries; his views on whether the workers in question were legitimately made redundant, or if their jobs still exist; the action he will take to ensure that taxpayers’ money is not used to assist companies in the race to the bottom; if this matter was discussed with the social partners before a decision was made; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2750/07]
The payment of statutory redundancy to employees is a matter, in the first instance, for the employer. My Department is responsible for ensuring that statutory redundancy is paid to all employees who find themselves in a redundancy situation and who, by reference to age, insurability and length of service are deemed eligible for such payment. Ex gratia payments, that is, payments over and above the statutory entitlement are a matter for negotiation between employer and employee or by union representatives or other agreed representatives acting on their behalf.
Statutory redundancy was paid to all eligible workers at Irish Ferries and the company subsequently applied for a rebate under the statutory redundancy scheme on 17 February 2006. Employers who pay statutory redundancy to employees in a genuine redundancy situation are entitled to recoup 60% of the moneys so paid from the social insurance fund.
When the application was received in my Department, it was examined in detail in accordance with normal procedure. Such examination gave rise to doubts as to the eligibility of the application under section 7 of the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 to 2003. Accordingly, the issue of eligibility was referred to the Office of the Attorney General for legal advice. A number of complex legal issues arose at several stages during the consideration of this matter which required further information to be sought from Irish Ferries. The matter was considered in detail on the basis of the legal advices received and on the facts of the case and it was determined that Irish Ferries was legally entitled to receive a rebate in accordance with the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 to 2003.
All decisions to pay a redundancy rebate must be based on the facts of the case and on the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 to 2003. There is no room for the exercise of ministerial preference or the consideration of matters extraneous to the redundancy legislation.
The protection of employment — exceptional collective redundancies — Bill, as negotiated in the context of Towards 2016, is at an advanced stage of drafting. The Bill will address cases of collective redundancies where specific situations apply and provide for the extension of unfair dismissals protection in circumstances where all employees are involved in dismissal following a strike. It is expected that the Bill will be published in a couple of weeks.
I thank the Minister for his reply. Does he accept that there were no redundancies in this case? What happened was that the jobs in question were sold to people from other countries who were prepared to work at a lower rate. In logical terms and in light of the facts the Irish Seamen's Union, ISU, agreed, under pressure and coercion, to allow their members to sell their jobs in return for a package, valued at €4.3 million, that was administered out of the fund into which everyone pays. The package to which I refer was paid out in respect not of people who lost their jobs but those whose jobs were sold to individuals who undertook to work at a lower rate. In terms of the facts, do I have it wrong or is that a fair presentation of what actually happened?
That is the Deputy's analysis of what happened.
The Minister referred to facts.
I heard the Deputy's questions.
It is not my analysis.
I also have personal views on the matter. I was particularly unhappy with what transpired. However, I cannot allow my personal preferences or instincts to impact on the legal entitlement as per the existing legislative framework. We must, therefore, rely on the law as it stands. We have taken steps in our discussions with the social partners to remedy what could be considered deficiencies in the legislation.
This will result in new legislation to cover collective redundancies of this kind. It will involve the establishment of a redundancy panel and provide for a statutory consultation process. The legislation will establish roles, responsibilities and timeframes for the Minister, the Labour Court and the redundancy panel. It will provide for situations where dismissals take place contrary to an opinion of the Labour Court, with particular reference to redundancy rebate entitlements, as well as consideration of unfair dismissal entitlements, penalties and appeals. We are moving to close certain gaps that have opened up with this issue. Our decision on the legislation must be based on the legal advice we have received and not on how we might like it to be or in terms of our own political preferences.
I take it from the Minister's reply that he is not disputing my facts. The jobs were sold and the employees were not made redundant. The compensation element of the redundancy package — the 60% of the cost of buying out the Irish Ferries workers — was paid for by the rest of us. The Minister claims he received legal advice, presumably from the Attorney General. I invite the Minister to publish it. We must take his word for it, which I do, but we have not seen the advice. On 12 January, my party leader wrote to the Taoiseach, himself a former Minister for Labour, asking that the advice be published.
The deal is done and the damage cannot be undone. However, the Minister referred to the loophole that was exploited in this case which he is attempting to redress with less than 100 days between now and the next general election. Publishing the legal advice will allow us to test its robustness.
Irrespective of the language the Deputy uses, the redundancies were negotiated by representatives of the workers.
The jobs were sold under duress.
There can be many different perspectives on this issue.
Up to 100,000 people marched on the streets of Dublin because of it.
I have been through it at all ends. The redundancy package was negotiated. I understand the Taoiseach replied today to the Deputy's party leader's correspondence on the matter. There is a long-standing precedent on the publication of the legal advice of Attorneys General, of which the Deputy is aware having been a Minister. We have been in discussions with the social partners. The heads of the Bill have already been published and it is intended to have it enacted prior to any event later this year.
I blame the Minister of State, Deputy Haughey.
Ten-nil to Irish Ferries.
124 Mr. Morgan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he will initiate an assessment of sectors and geographic regions expected to experience job losses in the next five years; and if he will put in place specific funding to upskill and re-train vulnerable workers in advance of the expected job losses. [2882/07]
The continued availability of a well-educated, highly skilled and flexible workforce will be critical to ensuring the continued competitiveness of the economy and to enhancing social inclusion. Our labour market situation is favourable with forecasted 2006 employment growth of 4.4% and an unemployment rate of 4.4%. Total employment now exceeds 2 million for the first time in the history of the State.
The National Development Plan 2007-2013, published last week, recognises that continued investment in education, training and upskilling will be crucial in maintaining Ireland's successful economic performance. Investment in human capital will have an important role in promoting the development and competitiveness of the regions over the period of the plan.
Under the plan, €7.7 billion will be invested in training and skills development. This includes some €2.8 billion which will be invested in training for people in employment, new skills for those affected by industrial restructuring, expansion and enlargement of the apprenticeship system and school leavers. Almost €4.9 billion will be provided for training and employment to promote opportunities for a wide range of groups, including the unemployed, people with disabilities, lone parents and Travellers.
A key input into determining investment priorities in the coming years will be the findings of the expert group on future skills needs report, entitled Towards a National Skills Strategy and due for publication shortly.
In addition to supporting companies and workers at the point where redundancies are announced, FÁS and Enterprise Ireland are open to early intervention in supporting the training and upskilling of workers where the initiative is taken by the industry or sector. A recent practical example of an early special intervention, which offers a potentially useful model for the future, was one recently taken by the paper print and packaging industry. In the manufacturing sector generally, the establishment of the high level manufacturing group, as provided for in Towards 2016, will include among its deliberations the challenge of supporting the upskilling of workers in that sector. The members of that group have been appointed.
I thank the Minister for his reply, although most of the information it contained is already known to us. I accept his point that efforts are being made to enhance ongoing activity in upskilling workers and enhancing educational output. Given the outflow of manufacturing jobs in particular, however, my request is that the Minister initiate an assessment by sector and geographical region to identify and target those that are most vulnerable. Targeted upskilling of workers in these sectors should then be provided. A fruitful exercise to begin this initiative would be to talk to some of the companies involved. Such an approach might yield a significant amount of information.
We must act in the face of various announcements of redundancies, the selling off of jobs or whatever it is called. We should at least be grateful that we are on the other side of the task force phase where numerous groups talked a lot but did nothing. Action must now be taken. The economy is doing well but there remains a continuous flow of jobs leaving the economy. Each of these job losses has a major impact, particularly in rural areas. The consequences are huge not only for the worker but for his or her family and community. An initiative such as I have outlined would mitigate the impact of such losses.
Such action is already being taken. We have a broad idea of the sectors that are in difficulty. A recent Forfás report pointed out the decline in certain traditional areas of manufacturing, including textiles, leather and electrical machinery. On the other hand, however, we have made gains in engineering, medical devices and pharmaceuticals. Those areas in which jobs are being lost are generally characterised by low utilisation of technology, high density of labour and corresponding difficulties in terms of cost base.
The One Step Up initiative, which we launched in 2004 through FÁS, is an attempt to do what Deputy Morgan suggests, that is, provide upskilling to the existing workforce. Some €40 million was provided under this scheme in 2004 and it was expanded in 2005 and 2006. In addition, the Skillnets programme, an industry-led upskilling initiative, has €62 million to spend between now and 2009 on upskilling and training within companies and particular sectors. Companies within a range of diverse sectors have drawn down funding under the Skillnets scheme and the feedback is positive.
The national skills strategy, which we are close to finalising, will involve a ramping up of efforts in terms of upskilling the existing workforce. This is the significant challenge facing us in the coming decade. We must move the emphasis from acting only when people become unemployed to providing training before that happens. I do not disagree with the fundamental point Deputy Morgan is making.
We are close in our position. I acknowledge that some investment has been made. All I ask is that it be more focused and that the assessment I suggest should take place. I have read the Forfás report. My point is that efforts in this area must be more specific. Recent job losses include 140 in Waterford, 85 in Rooskey, County Roscommon, 30 in north Donegal and 92 in Youghal. There is also the prospect of job losses at Motorola in Cork, although that company has at least given some notice which may allow for some degree of upskilling of staff.
I ask the Minister that specific investment be made in vulnerable sectors of the economy. A detailed assessment must be made to pinpoint those sectors accurately.
Deputy Morgan might list some of the job gains in the Dundalk-Drogheda area in the past six to nine months. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Dermot Ahern, is busy doing so. Deputy Morgan might make a similar acknowledgement.
For the information of the House, I wish to clarify a statement I made earlier. The Taoiseach's letter to Deputy Rabbitte has not yet issued.
I am devastated and surprised.
I am anxious to accommodate the two remaining Deputies who have Priority Questions. We are running out of time.
125 Mr. Hogan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he has a view on the impact on Irish business of an increase in Government and regulator-controlled charges of 55.5% between the end of 2001 and October 2006; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2753/07]
I emphasise the important priority I attach to business costs and the broader issue of competitiveness. There has been an increase in business costs in areas where statutory and independent regulators have to respond to international price movements, for example, in energy markets. These have undoubtedly contributed to increased business costs, but these increases are also a burden on all economies. More broadly-based increases in world commodity prices have also increased raw material and component costs for business.
I wrote to the chairman of the Commission on Energy Regulation emphasising the competitiveness implications of large energy price increases at a time when international prices were falling. The CER agreed to my proposal for a forum, including the enterprise development agencies, at which the importance of competitiveness could be discussed with the CER in the context of its analysis of price changes.
According to the Department of Finance, over the long term the Government has contributed very little to inflation. On average in the ten years to 2006, it is estimated that indirect taxation added an average of approximately 0.5% a year to the CPI.
In the mix of business input costs there will always be variability in costs. Irish enterprises cannot be insulated from external-driven price pressures. What we can do, however, is maintain active oversight of the competitiveness agenda and internal pressure points. For example, in the last three budgets there was no increase in indirect taxation apart from the recent health-driven change to tobacco duty. These budgets were designed to limit inflationary tendencies by not increasing indirect taxation.
We are also making sure that the economy consistently maintains a level of relative competitiveness that encourages firms to invest, expand and create employment. While we cannot be a low cost economy like India or China, what we are doing — and doing well — is managing our competitiveness so that we sustain growth and prosperity.
I am not complacent about cost competitiveness. We must concentrate on areas that can be influenced domestically. It must be recognised that tackling the cost challenges requires a response from all sections of society and not only from Government. Consequently under Towards 2016, we are re-establishing an anti-inflation group to proactively address areas where costs pressures diverge from those of our competitors.
On the topic of business costs, I would also like to mention the National Competitiveness Council's recently published Statement on the Costs of Doing Business in Ireland. Looking at overall business costs in key sectors, the analysis points to Irish cities being on average 15% more cost competitive than the average of other high income cities. The research highlights that Irish cities, besides Dublin, show the greatest cost competitiveness compared with others that were looked at in medical technologies, engineering and food processing. These are important sectors for economic development and the report underlines the competitive position of a large part of our manufacturing sector. I am confident that our broadest competitive position will remain robust and particularly in those sectors of the economy which will drive economic growth and employment.
What the Minister said is absolute nonsense. Inflation has nothing to do with international trends but everything to do with domestic policy. Price increases in the domestic services sector in this country are twice what they are elsewhere in Europe. The increase in inflation is not due to higher energy prices. Energy price inflation has declined sharply since 2006 from 14.1% in the first quarter to 1.1% in the final quarter.
The Minister mentioned the cost of doing business in Ireland and in its cities. Will he consider the cost comparison between Dublin and Manchester in 2006? For waste disposal, Dublin was 100% dearer; for electricity, it was 50% dearer; for gas, it was 20% dearer; for insurance, it was 40% dearer; for IT services, it was 160% dearer; and for legal services, it was 35% dearer. It is nonsense for the Minister to say everything is great and that we have no difficulty with cost competitiveness and for the Government to abdicate its responsibility for these costs.
Will the Minister indicate the measures he will take to ensure we reverse that trend and ensure Government policy is such that there is not a repeat of the 55.5% net increase in the various services I outlined relative to the rest of the European Union?
The Central Statistics Office does not publish separate data covering Government and regulator-controlled charges. We checked widely and the only source we can get for the 55.5% net increase is a Fine Gael press release of 14 December which is on the Fine Gael website.
The National Competitiveness Council is under the remit of the Minister's Department.
I ask the Deputy to allow the Minister to reply.
I respectfully suggest that website is not the most robust source or reference I check for figures of that kind. The National Competitiveness Council in its report produced the data and the assessment on the cost competitiveness of Irish cities; I did not do it. I clearly excluded Dublin in my reply. I referred to Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford and these are important.
The Minister mentioned all the cities.
Given our regionalisation policy, when an analysis is done independently of Government and of everybody else in this House, it is important to put on record——
I put it on the record——
——that, compared to other developed cities across Europe, some of our cities are significantly better in this respect. That is all I was doing and it is important to record that.
I agree and have articulated for a long time that we need to become more competitive in our domestic economy. When we took a decision in the retail sector to do that in terms of the removal of the groceries order, Fine Gael again reverted to type, played to the gallery and opposed that measure in the House.
We know the prices of groceries now.
The track record of the Deputy's party is that people talk a good talk but when it comes to taking on some sheltered sectors of the economy, which is the key to making our domestic sector more competitive, its members pull back and revert to the old electoral political game.
Fianna Fáil does that.
Fine Gael does not have much credibility in terms of resolving some of the pressures in the domestic economy that have given rise to some of the cost issues, which we need to move to address. There is no question that costs are a fundamental issue in any developed economy. We are conscious of that and it is the reason the Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen, took a clear premeditated decision in the last three budgets not to facilitate any increases and not to increase indirect taxation in any way.
The problem is indirect service charges.
The 30 minutes allocated for priority questions have expired but I am prepared to allow some latitude.
I acknowledge what the Acting Chairman is trying to achieve and I have no difficulty with it. In respect of all the sheltered and regulated sectors the Minister spoke about, it is interesting he did not dispute the figures I gave. That is because he has failed to do anything to address issues in regard to waste, electricity, gas, IT and legal services, although I acknowledge there has been an improvement in terms of a reduction in insurance costs. According to the Central Bank, inflation is an increasing risk to the economy's export competitiveness with the re-emergence of an inflation differential with the rest of the euro area. Does the Minister disagree with the views expressed in several reports by the National Competitiveness Council, the Department of Finance and the Central Bank or does he believe everything is okay?
I ask the Minister to be brief in his reply.
In terms of the anti-inflation position, as part of the social partnership process, we are establishing an anti-inflation group to deal with inflationary pressures on the economy, but the broad macro statistics for Ireland are strong. We had a very high economic growth rate in 2006 and that is also predicted for 2007. In terms of a quality of life index and the UN human development index, we are doing particularly well and are ranked very high on it. We are ranked eighth in the OECD group and third on the National Competitiveness Council's benchmark. In terms of pro-employment taxation policy, we are number two behind South Korea in regard to a pro-employment taxation policy in the context of personal taxation and corporate taxation. In terms of ease of doing business and an education system that is most responsive to the needs of enterprise and industry, we are number one. The Deputy can go through indices and there is quite a range of positive indices. Insurance costs in terms of motor and household premia have significantly decreased because of the establishment of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board and direct action taken by the Government. We acknowledge there are other pressures on the economy and it is incorrect of the Deputy to dismiss the external impact over a period of oil and energy pricing.
The figures speak for themselves.
It flies in the face of reality. We will continue to focus on making sure we can take steps to maintain our cost competitiveness. It is a challenge——
It is a major challenge.
——in an economy that is no longer at the stage it was ten years ago. It is much more advanced and developed. We will never have an economy like China or India, therefore, we must play to our strengths and work on certain sectors.
I am prepared to take Question No. 126, if that is agreeable to the Minister and other Members. Is that agreed? Agreed.
126 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the position regarding the decentralisation programme for his Department’s agencies; the number of staff who have decentralised from a Dublin office to an office outside the greater Dublin area; the number of staff required to decentralise under his Department’s agencies’ plans; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2751/07]
Four of the agencies under the aegis of my Department are due to decentralise as follows: FÁS is to move 383 posts to Birr, County Offaly; Enterprise Ireland is to move 292 posts to Shannon; the Health and Safety Authority is to move 110 posts to Thomastown, County Kilkenny, and the National Standards Authority of Ireland is to move 132 posts to Arklow, County Wicklow.
My Department continues to provide advice and support to each of the four agencies in furthering their decentralisation programmes and a dedicated agency decentralisation committee exists to drive the process forward. In addition, I am satisfied that all agencies are fully engaged in the process and are taking all relevant steps to advance their decentralisation plans. In outlining the current agency position on decentralisation, it must be remembered that the central applications facility, CAF, data are based on priority first preference applications.
Under the Government's decentralisation programme, FÁS is due to transfer its head office, including some 383 posts, to Birr, County Offaly, by 2009. Currently, two FÁS staff members are physically located in Birr and another staff member has agreed to relocate, bringing the total to three. The staff members in question are currently situated in rented accommodation in the Birr Technology Centre. It is anticipated that between 40 and 50 staff will be located in Birr by the end of the year. Staff located in Birr will consist of volunteers and new recruits who continue to have the decentralisation clause in their contracts.
To date, a total of 102 FÁS staff have expressed an interest in relocating to Birr, broken down as follows: a total of 26 FÁS staff have volunteered to move, outside of CAF; six FÁS staff have signed up through the CAF; 34 new entrants have signed contracts with the relocation clause; and 36 promoted staff have signed contracts with the relocation clause. However, following industrial action these cases are being examined by the parties and the matter has been referred to the Labour Court.
Enterprise Ireland is to move 292 posts to Shannon under the decentralisation programme. The central applications facility indicates that 19 Enterprise Ireland staff have applied for decentralisation to Enterprise Ireland in Shannon. Of these, 15 are based within, and four are based outside, Dublin. The number of applications received from within the Civil Service and public service, including my Department, amounts to 33, giving a total of 52 people.
While working closely with the Office of Public Works, Enterprise Ireland has identified, but not yet acquired, a preferred site for the construction of a new headquarters building in Shannon, namely, a 13 acre site owned by Shannon Development. In co-operation with Shannon Development and the OPW, the site was valued and a feasibility study carried out. The site occupies a prime position in Shannon and is considered suitable for a major landmark building or civic structure.
Enterprise Ireland's national regional development headquarters will be located in Shannon town, as well as a new unit to work with the city and county enterprises boards. A senior manager has been appointed as head of regions and entrepreneurship and will guide the transition and the establishment of Enterprise Ireland's presence in the mid-west region.
Currently, the Health and Safety Authority has a sanctioned staffing complement of 185 sanctioned posts, of which 110 are due to move to Thomastown, County Kilkenny. To date a total of 62 people have expressed an interest through the central applications facility to transfer to Thomastown.
The authority has been advised by the Office of Public Works that as the Thomastown site procurement process is in its final stages, the current estimated timeline for availability for occupancy is late 2008 or early 2009. In advance of decentralising to Thomastown, in August 2006 the authority established an interim office in Kilkenny city. A total of 15 staff, including staff recruited for the registration, evaluation and authorisation of chemicals, REACH strategy, have relocated recently to that office in advance of moving to Thomastown. This number will increase to 18 by March 2007. In addition, future staff to be recruited for the REACH strategy will also be based in Thomastown. All staff that move in the interim to the Kilkenny office will transfer to Thomastown when the premises there are completed.
The authority established an interim office in Kilkenny city in August 2006 and 15 staff have relocated to that office in anticipation of moving to Thomastown.
Finally, the National Standards Authority of Ireland, with a total of 132 staff, is to be relocated to Arklow. The latest available CAF figures show a total of 107 first preference priority applications for Arklow from the wider public sector subject to the decentralisation programme. The number of staff in NSAI who have, to date, applied for decentralisation is 11. The total number required to be decentralised is 132 and none has been decentralised to date. The NSAI is liaising with the OPW to identify office accommodation in the Arklow area. The current NSAI implementation plan anticipates a target date of April 2009 as the completion date of its decentralisation programme. However, this is dependent on the resolution of matters at central level.
I thank the Minister for his reply. When I asked this question on 10 October 2006, I was told a total of only two people from the aforementioned four bodies had decentralised. If I understand correctly the Minister's comprehensive reply in respect of the Health and Safety Authority, the original figure of 12 people who had moved to Kilkenny has increased to 15. Am I correct in deducing that between 10 October and 31 January, a net sum of three additional people has moved to temporary accommodation? The total number of staff scheduled for decentralisation on 10 October was 917. Of that, a grand total of 18 moved and 899 remain. This has happened after many people expressed interest, many plans were put in place, promises were explored and many contracts were negotiated. No doubt many people got inside tracks on where and when things might happen with decentralisation. Since the announcement in the 2004 budget, only 18 people have moved and they are currently housed in temporary accommodation. Is this a fair understanding of what the Minister has achieved in the past two and a half years?
I have laid out in detail for the House the number of staff that each agency plans to decentralise.
That is the 917 staff.
It is an open secret that the agency side of the equation has not been as rapid as the normal decentralisation programmes with civil servants. For example, my Department has been well subscribed in terms of its move to Carlow and it is going well.
My question refers to the agencies.
We are making progress on the agencies in terms of the issues identified. Under the timelines of 2008 and 2009, FÁS will have a significant presence in Offaly, Enterprise Ireland will have a significant presence in Shannon and likewise with the Health and Safety Authority in Thomastown. There have been some difficulties with specialist posts in the NSAI that require further resolution.
While there have been delays in progressing the programme, our commitment to decentralisation is total. We want it to happen and are anxious that it does so because of the benefit it will bring to the regions concerned. We hope this policy has support across the House.
Will the Minister confirm that people in any of the specialist agencies, who are not civil servants, will not be forced to decentralise if they do not wish to? This was not envisaged at the time when Mr. McCreevy introduced the raid on decentralisation through the budget process. What is the Minister's view on what the implications will be for the loss of institutional memory and expertise in the agencies under his responsibility?
We have experienced this with earlier decentralisation programmes.
No we did not. Those were mostly civil servants.
I can recall when the Central Statistics Office was transferred to Cork and the big issue was the one the Deputy has just raised.
They were civil servants.
The decentralisation eventually took place, there was no loss of institutional memory or expertise and people grew and developed. We can sometimes overstate that problem.
In the context of FÁS and the referral to the Labour Court, we have clarified the industrial relations context in which people will move.
Is it voluntary?
We are working with the agencies to facilitate voluntary moves to the various regions.
