Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 January 2013
525. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Justice and Equality further to Parliamentary Question No. 766 of 6 November 2012, the progress made to date in relocating staff; his plans to relocate staff to vacant offices of the Property Registration Authority in Roscommon town; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3034/13]
View answerAs outlined in the reply to Parliamentary Question No. 766 of 6 November 2012, the lease for the Setanta Centre accommodation expires in March 2013. The 84 staff of the Property Registration Authority (PRA) currently located in that accommodation will be re-located before the expiry of the lease. The Office of Public Works has identified accommodation in the Irish Life Centre, Dublin 1. However, it is unlikely that the proposed location will be sufficient to accommodate all PRA staff currently in the Setanta Centre and some staff will have to be re-located to Chancery Street.
Furthermore, as indicated in the previous reply, it was decided, following the Government Review on the viability of all decentralisation projects that the PRA should remain in situ in the new premises located at the Golf Links Road, Roscommon. The building was originally designed to accommodate 230. Given the on-going moratorium on recruitment, redeployment programmes and the ongoing reduction in staff numbers required under the Employment Control Framework (ECF), it is unlikely that the PRA will be in a position to locate the planned number of staff in Roscommon in the foreseeable future.
In view of these circumstances, the PRA continues to work with the Office of Public Works to ensure the optimum utilisation of the accommodation by other suitable public sector occupants. A small number of staff from the Roscommon Enterprise Board has been occupying part of the accommodation for some months now. In early February, approximately 50 staff from the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine will re-locate to the Golf Links Road building. The PRA will continue to work with the Office of Public Works to seek opportunities to fully maximise the occupancy in this building by other State bodies.
