I propose to answer Questions Nos. 82, 83 and 85 to 87, inclusive, together.
As part of the decentralisation programme announced by the Minister for Finance in his budget 2004 speech, a minimum of 250 staff of my Department are to decentralise to Carlow. Four agencies operating under the aegis of my Department, FÁS, the National Standards Authority of Ireland, the Health and Safety Authority and Enterprise Ireland, will also be relocating to Birr, Arklow, Thomastown and Shannon, respectively. A decentralisation implementation committee has been established within my Department to develop the decentralisation proposals and to drive the process across the Department and its agencies. The Secretary General of my Department, as Accounting Officer, is responsible for adherence to public financial procedures and ensuring that there is an effective system of corporate governance in place. The Secretary General provides advice to me on an ongoing basis as Accounting Officer.
I am satisfied that there are adequate systems of internal financial control in place in my Department to ensure compliance with public financial procedures. In March 2004, the Secretary General of my Department, as Accounting Officer, signed a statement on internal financial control in respect of the 2003 appropriation account, acknowledging responsibility for ensuring that an effective system of internal financial controls is in place, maintained and operated by the Department. As has been the situation until now, the Secretary General will continue to keep me apprised of the impacts of decentralisation on my Department.
In accordance with the timetable set out in the Mullarkey report, my Department is currently in the process of putting in place a risk management programme which will be rolled out throughout my Department beginning in June 2004. As the Mullarkey report envisages, this risk management programme is designed to deal with strategic, operational, financial and reputational risks whether related to decentralisation or otherwise and provides a process for managing risks which arise.
My Department and the relevant agencies along with all other decentralising public bodies, are currently finalising decentralisation implementation plans, as required by the report of the decentralisation implementation group, the Flynn group. These are initial plans which will require further development as additional information emerges in relation to the people, property and business issues identified in the implementation group's report. In particular, information emerging from the central applications facility in terms of staff numbers and grades electing to transfer to decentralising Departments and agencies will be crucial to the development of risk assessment and risk mitigation strategies.
Many of the areas of my Department identified for decentralisation to Carlow have already undergone business process re-engineering exercises in the recent past. These BPRs will need to be revisited in the context of decentralisation. Moves to enhance the use of ICT are also underway and offer the prospect of greater efficiencies and effectiveness in the delivery of services to be decentralised. Following the preparation of the implementation plans, an overall assessment framework, which will assess direct and indirect risks, threats to, and opportunities for synergies between my Department's offices and its agencies following decentralisation will be progressed.
Given the overall risk assessment framework proposed, there are currently no plans for the audit committee to undertake a separate risk assessment of the impact of decentralisation on the Department's activities. I do not consider that my Department's annual report would be the most appropriate means of publication of decentralisation assessment reports. These reports will be made available to all key stakeholders.
