Staff in my Department who do not wish to decentralise to Athlone or Mullingar have the option of either applying under the Central Applications Facility to decentralise to another Department or Office or to apply under the Dublin Arrangements to transfer to a vacancy in a Department or Office remaining in Dublin. In 2005, my Department's Decentralisation Committee had a series of meetings with sections scheduled to decentralise to Athlone. The purpose of the meetings was to increase knowledge and awareness of the decentralisation programme, including outlining indicative timeframes and to discuss ways in which sections should start preparing for decentralisation. The 2006 business planning process was used to assess sections' preparedness for decentralisation in terms of records management and the availability of job guides. Many sections indicated that they already had prepared job guides for critical areas of work.
Staff in my Department's Change Management Unit have undergone specialist training in process mapping to support preparations for decentralisation. In 2006, an additional Assistant Principal Officer was assigned to the Change Management Unit to support business continuity throughout the Department, with an initial focus on those sections in my Department scheduled to move to Athlone. Following consultation with those sections, a template for job guides and business processes has been agreed. This will facilitate the development of job guides for those remaining areas of work which have not been documented. The business planning process introduced under the Strategic Management Initiative ensures that all sections within my Department have a business plan, which identifies the priority areas of work and staff responsible. Role profile forms identify the role and function of each officer in my Department, greatly facilitating the transfer of staff and of work. In addition, my Department has been updating its reference guides under sections 15 and 16 of the Freedom of Information Act.