Adjournment Matter. - Decentralisation Programme. – Seanad Éireann (21st Seanad) – Tuesday, 21 Mar 2000

Adjournment Matter. - Decentralisation Programme.

Mrs. Taylor-Quinn

I thank the Cathaoirleach for affording me the opportunity of raising this matter on the Adjournment. I apologise to him, the staff of the House and the Minister, Deputy de Valera, for not attending on the last occasion when I was awarded the Adjournment. The House rose much earlier than expected and as a result the matter was not debated.

I am very pleased the Minister for Finance has come to the House because he is the person who can make the decision on this matter. To put it bluntly, I am making the case for the Minister for Finance to decentralise part of his Department or some other Department to the town of Kilrush, which is the capital of west Clare. It is a fine maritime town, one with which I am sure the Minister is familiar. It is located in a wonderful area on the Shannon Estuary, looking across at Senator Cregan's territory of west Limerick and north Kerry. It is a very scenic and attractive area in which to reside. There are a number of advantages for anyone coming to the west Clare area. First, house prices are very reasonable and sites and houses are available. Second, for those with children there are very good educational establishments in the Kilrush area, including crèche, pre-school, Montessori, primary and secondary school facilities and a variety of primary schools in the surrounding area. There are third level education establishments in Tralee, Limerick and Galway, all less than one and a half hour's journey from Kilrush town.

In addition, a number of facilities are available which are suitable for office sites or for conversion into office accommodation. There is the old convent which is vacant at present. This is a wonderfully preserved building and a fine landmark in the town. There is another site for which planning permission has been sought for an office building and it is hoped that such a building will shortly be built on that site. Kilrush has all the facilities which would make it very attractive for any group of civil servants moving to the area.

Kilrush has a great social scene. There are golf clubs in Kilrush and Kilkee and it is hoped to have an international links in Dunbeg in the near future. It is very close to Shannon international airport. There is the wonderful vista of the Shannon and all its attractions, including a marina in Kilrush town. Close by is the town of Kilkee, a lovely seaside resort with a waterworld, a golf links and beautiful walks. The entire area is a vista of history, traditional music, friendliness and neighbourliness. Anyone coming to the west Clare area will be more than welcome. Perhaps we could consider transferring the Seanad to the Kilrush area. We could bring the Clerk of the Seanad and the staff of the House to this lovely area.

Over the years many of the traditional industries located in Kilrush became redundant and high unemployment became a feature of the town. It is possible to recover from this because people within the community have a wonderful work ethic and tradition. These people would like the opportunity of additional work. They would like to provide a service for civil servants coming to the town. The Minister is in favour of the decentralisation policy and this is a unique opportunity for him to arrange the transfer of a substantial office employing 200 or 300 people. The facilities exist within the town where approximately half the capacity of the water and sewerage services are being utilised. There is great room for improvement and expansion of housing in the area.

I urge the Minister to seriously consider the proposal which has been ably made by Kilrush Urban District Council, Shannon Development, FÁS, Clare Enterprise Board, the local community in Kilrush and various organisations, including the Chamber of Commerce, which drafted a presentation for Government and the Minister for consideration. The case has been clearly made. It gives a history of the depopulation which has occurred in the area and the need for reversing that trend. The Minister is in a position to change the situation and I strongly urge him to do so. All the facilities available in any city are available within the town of Kilrush, such as ISDN lines, all the modern technology, banking, legal and accounting facilities, medical specialists and so on. All services are available in the town of Kilrush. A number of facilities for the care of the elderly are available for those who wish to bring their parents, in-laws or elderly members of the family to the area.

This is an opportunity for the Minister to provide for an area of disadvantage which has experienced social exclusion. The area has suffered from depopulation in recent years due to redundancies in traditional industries which were not in keeping with modern times. This is an opportunity to put a Department in place in Kilrush. It would provide a group of civil servants with a unique opportunity to improve and enhance their quality of life and that of their children. I urge the Minister to consider this matter and to make a decision on it shortly.

The facilities are available. The Convent of Mercy building is vacant and could be converted. There is also the advance office facility. In addition, the granary and mill building at the end of Francis Street, adjacent to the marina, which has over 30,000 square footage, could be easily converted into office accommodation. I have no doubt the owners would be willing to enter into negotiations with the Minister. I hope the Minister is in a position to give a positive response to this matter.

Minister for Finance (Mr. McCreevy)

I thank Senator Taylor-Quinn for giving me the opportunity to address the issue of decentralisation, which has been the subject of considerable recent interest both in and outside the Houses of the Oireachtas.

I am an enthusiastic advocate of decentralisation and am determined that the new programme will be the most ambitious in the history of the State. I am sure there are many other supporters of decentralisation in the House, not least the sponsor of this Adjournment matter, Senator Taylor-Quinn. Given her first-hand experience of having seen more than 100 staff of the Office of the Revenue Commissioners relocate to Ennis, she will agree that considerable benefits accrued not only to the town and hinterland of Ennis but also to the staff who relocated there.

Recently I initiated a process of consultation with my Government colleagues with a view to taking decisions on a significant programme of decentralisation by the summer. This initiative follows on from my announcement in my Budget Statement of the Government's intention to embark on a new and radical programme of decentralisation with the transfer of the maximum number of public sector jobs from Dublin. In pursuit of this policy, the Government intends to relocate almost entire Departments-offices and other public bodies to provincial centres and it is intended that the forthcoming programme will, for the first time, involve non-commercial State sponsored bodies. My budget announcement endorses the commitment set out in An Action Programme for the Millennium, as reviewed, to a policy of balanced regional development and set as a key priority the channelling of public sector jobs into provincial areas. In developing a new programme the Government has in mind a number of objectives, including the promotion of regional development, the reduction of congestion in Dublin, the establishment of a more even spread of public sector jobs around the country and the procurement of office accommodation at lower cost than in Dublin.

The current programme of decentralisation, which is expected to be completed in the early part of next year, will involve the relocation of more than 4,000 civil servants from Dublin to a large number of provincial locations. The impact of this programme cannot be underestimated given that it involves almost 20 towns and cities throughout the country. Senator Taylor-Quinn, having seen in her constituency the benefits of decentralisation, is not alone in this regard. Many Members would share my view that decentralisation has brought considerable benefits to many communities throughout the country.

Almost 50% of all civil servants are located outside Dublin and while decentralisation cannot account for all of that it has played a major part and has contributed significantly to a greater geographical spread of Government services. All regions of the country have benefited from the Government's policy on decentralisation and it is the Government's intention that the new programme will maintain that policy. It is obvious that the addition of new jobs to an area, whether through decentralisation or otherwise, gives a positive economic boost to such an area. New jobs result in increased economic growth and better use of existing and often underused local infrastructure.

While I am conscious of the coverage which the proposals on decentralisation have received recently, particularly in the media, I express a word of caution against any expectation that a largescale relocation of public servants to provincial towns is imminent. Members will appreciate that considerable planning will be required before this most ambitious programme is commenced. It will be necessary to identify appropriate blocks of work, select and train staff and source suitable accommodation. I say this not to demonstrate any lack of enthusiasm on my part or that of the Government but simply to emphasise that after decisions are taken it will be some time before staff arrive in their new locations.

I take this opportunity to acknowledge the many representations I have received on the subject of decentralisation and to assure those who have made such representations that these cases will be considered fully by the Government as part of the consultative process which I have initiated. In that context I assure Senator Taylor-Quinn that the case being made for the inclusion of Kilrush in the forthcoming programme has been noted and will be fully considered in the context of the process on which I have embarked. I assure the House of my personal commitment to ensuring, in whatever way I can, the successful implementation of this new programme of decentralisation.

Seanad Éireann debate - Tuesday, 21 Mar 2000