I propose to take Questions Nos. 15 to 17, inclusive, 19 and 20 together.
There are no proposals to decentralise my Department or any of the agencies or bodies under its aegis. Since 12 May this year, all staff wishing to decentralise must use the central application facility, CAF, regardless as to whether their name is already on any other existing transfer list, departmental or external.
The CAF will remain open throughout the duration of the decentralisation programme. Those who apply prior to 7 September 2004 will be given priority in the case of locations that are over-subscribed. Information gathered through the CAF will be analysed by the Civil Service and Local Appointments Commission, which will inform Departments of the numbers of their staff applying for transfer to other organisations. Once I have this information, I will be in a position to respond to requests for information on the numbers of officials from my Department who have applied to relocate.
The report of the decentralisation implementation group, chaired by Mr. Phil Flynn — March 2004 — recommends that a system similar to CAF be developed to facilitate the reassignment of staff remaining in Dublin to other organisations. As information becomes available from the CAF, it will be possible to identify vacancies which will arise in organisations remaining in Dublin, as a result of individuals from those organisations applying for decentralised posts. The Dublin CAF will allow staff being reassigned within Dublin to apply for these vacancies. The modalities of this will be discussed between public service management and staff interests.