The Government decided on 14 March 1995 to relocate the Patents Office, an office of my Department, to Kilkenny. The Government decision required that the business services unit of the Department of Finance undertake a study of the Patents Office to establish the necessary management structure, business processes and information technology requirements to ensure a successful relocation to Kilkenny. The Department of Finance commenced its review in September 1995. After its completion in late 1996, my Department proceeded with arrangements in January 1997 for the move of the Patents Office to Kilkenny. The Patents Office relocated to Kilkenny on 1 September 1998, which involved the relocation of 68 posts in total.
Of the staff who transferred to Kilkenny in September 1998, 15 staff were relocated from within my Department, 43 were transferred from other Departments and four specialist staff were recruited directly to the Patents Office in Kilkenny. With regard to job and people changes required to achieve decentralisation of the Patents Office, the best estimate of the Department is that there were an average of 3.5 people changes for every job decentralised.
The training in period required for administrative staff varied across grades and was dependent on the specific duties involved, ranging typically from one month to three months. The overlapping of administrative staff also varied from a number of days to one month, the period being determined by the specific duties and grades involved. Three information technology unit staff for Kilkenny were in place one year in advance of the move. Staff vacancies and priorities elsewhere across the Department at the time also impacted on the period of staff overlap. Eight staff were designated as key trainers in advance of the move and each provided training to new staff arriving in the office from late 1997 until relocation on 1 September 1998. The period that key trainers overlapped with their direct replacements ranged from one month to three months.
The costs for overtime and travel and subsistence for the Patents Office for the period 1996 to 2002 are outlined in the following table.
Amounts in Euro
|
1996
|
1997
|
1998
|
1999
|
2000
|
2001
|
2002
|
Overtime
|
16,548.81
|
58,486.56
|
104,732.19
|
48,200.25
|
31,145.14
|
26,960.97
|
24,278.28
|
Travel and Subsistence
|
30,419.03
|
20,047.73
|
38,535.08
|
60,335.84
|
52,155.84
|
72,958.08
|
70,976.84
|