As the Deputy will appreciate, the decision to decentralise the Department's development co-operation directorate to Limerick raised a number of issues relating to the conditions of service which would apply to officers of the Department of Foreign Affairs transferring to Limerick and to officers of other Departments and agencies joining this Department. It has been necessary to consider these issues with the Department of Finance and we are in ongoing consultation with them in this regard.
The Department has also recently inspected a site in Limerick city proposed by the Office of Public Works, OPW, as the location for the new premises for the development co-operation directorate. Certain issues arising from that inspection remain to be addressed with the OPW. The suitability, or otherwise, of the site will have a major bearing on the timescale for completion of the decentralisation, and therefore on the implementation plan.
In light of that, it was not feasible for this Department to meet the time frame recommended in the report of the decentralisation implementation group for submission of implementation plans. The plan is now being finalised by a committee, comprising mainly representatives of the Department's corporate services and development co-operation divisions, and has not necessitated the diversion of staff resources from other work. I am confident the plan will be submitted to the Department of Finance within the next ten days.