I propose to take Questions Nos. 93 and 100 together.
Under the Government decentralisation programme announced recently by my colleague, the Minister for Finance, all sections of my Department currently headquartered in Dublin will move to the following towns: Drogheda, 300 posts; Buncrana, 120 posts; Donegal, 230 posts; Carrick-on-Shannon, 225 posts; and Sligo, 100 posts.
This Department's information systems division and similar functions in other Departments will also be relocated, though the location has yet to be determined. In addition, the Combat Poverty Agency and Comhairle, agencies under the aegis of my Department, will be relocated to Monaghan and Carrickmacross respectively.
My Department has previous experience of the issues associated with decentralisation, having relocated functions and staff out of Dublin to Sligo, Letterkenny, Longford, Waterford and Dundalk. The new programme of decentralisation will involve major change for my Department and a key objective will be to ensure that it is implemented in a planned way and with due regard to the effects on staff and the maintenance of high standards of service.
My Department has established a project management structure to manage the decentralisation programme within the organisation. The structure will support the two phases of the decentralisation programme, that is, the development of an overall departmental strategy and the development and implementation of plans for decentralising individual sections.
A detailed project plan covering all aspects of the decentralisation process for my Department and the two agencies involved is being prepared. The plan will set out the business areas to be located to each location; the timing of each relocation; staff placement and training plans; the estimated resources required to complete the project; the risks associated with the project; and the contingency plans to deal with those risks. In line with a request to all Departments we have supplied our preliminary response to the decentralisation implementation committee established by the Government to oversee the decentralisation programme.
As an input to the planning process, a survey of all staff in my Department, including staff in areas outside of Dublin, is being conducted to establish initial indications of interest in the new locations. To date, 2,999 responses to the staff survey have been recorded; this represents 63% of the 4,770 staff in the organisation. Theposition as regards expressions of interest is as follows: Carrick-on-Shannon, 148; Drogheda, 119; Donegal Town, 51; Sligo, 24; and Buncrana, 15.
A total of 594 staff members have indicated a wish to transfer to another Department, office or agency. A total of 2,048 staff members have indicated they wish to remain in their current location. The final results from the survey will be available very shortly. While the survey provides a useful initial indication of staff preferences, it is recognised that the decisions which people make are likely to change as the implementation of the programme proceeds. To date, staff surveys have not been carried out in either the Combat Poverty Agency or Comhairle. Plans for all of the Departments involved will be considered by the decentralisation implementation committee which is due to submit an initial report by end March 2004 on the implementation of the overall programme.
My Department will report progress on the implementation of the plan on a regular basis to the implementation committee, which will report in turn to the special Cabinet sub-committee which is overseeing the programme as a whole.
