Decentralisation Programme.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 3 February 2010

Wednesday, 3 February 2010

Questions (326)

Ruairí Quinn

Question:

391 Deputy Ruairí Quinn asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will state, in view of the decentralisation programme announced in December 2003, the properties rented or acquired as a consequence of the decentralisation programme in respect of his Department and of every State body for which it is responsible; the date of commencement of the rental or date of purchase of each property; the cost of each property purchased or the annual rental of each property rented; the number of staff transferred into each property as of 1 January of each year from the commencement of the rental or the date of the acquisition of each property in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5634/10]

Written answers

Minister for Education and Science (Deputy Batt O’Keeffe)

No office accommodation was rented or acquired by the Office of Public Works (OPW) for my Department as a result of the 2003 decentralisation programme. A new office block was built on the state owned campus in Cornamaddy, Athlone which has been occupied by the Department since the summer of 2008. 208 staff were accommodated in the new building, 88 of whom decentralised from the Department's offices in Dublin and 2 of whom decentralised from the Department's Tullamore office. Approximately 100 staff transferred from the original premises in Athlone and the remainder transferred directly in under the Decentralisation programme from various other Departments and locations under the Central Applications Facility (CAF) process.

In the summer of 2008 six staff decentralised to Mullingar to a property leased by the OPW in Friars Mill Road, where the Department's Midlands Regional Office was already located.

In addition, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA), a body under the aegis of my Department, decentralised 12 members of staff to Portlaoise in August 2008. These staff are located in a property on James Fintan Lawlor Avenue in Portlaoise which is leased by the OPW since 1st July 2008. The numbers at 1 January 2009 and 2010 were 12 and 10 respectively.

Information relating to the cost of the building works, rental costs, or the terms of the leases are not held in my Department and is available from the OPW.