I propose to take Questions Nos. 270, 271 and 343 to 347, inclusive, together.
At the outset it is very important to note that no jobs will be leaving Sligo rather staff will be reassigned roles within the area.
The Department of Social Protection is responsible for the administration of 70 separate schemes and services at a cost of some €20 billion a year, which affect the lives of almost every person in the State. As the nature of our business changes, the organisation must adapt and structure itself in the most efficient way for effective service delivery. Functions move between locations in the Department to deal with business efficiencies.
A number of elements of the Communications and Customer Services functions are being brought together within a new unit in Dublin. One of the consequences of this reorganisation is that over the coming months 25 staff in the information section Sligo will transition to other important roles in the area. Government approval is not required for such internal reorganisations.
Sligo is a key location for Departments Services with 654 staff located there. The Department's office in College Road in Sligo administers national schemes including State and other Pensions, Household Benefits, the School Meals Programme and Supplementary Welfare Allowance Policy. Since 2013 the Department's office in College Road has taken on all of the following additional functions - administering the deduction at source facility from welfare benefits for Local Property Tax, payments to the women under the Magdalen Commission Scheme and the Back to School Clothing and Footwear Allowance (BSCFA). The administration of the BSCFA in Sligo, since 2015, involves the recruitment of some 50 staff, mainly local, for a period of up to 6 months. More recently payment of the Water Conservation Grant was administered from the Sligo Offices. The Department also has an Intreo Centre in Sligo, located at Cranmore Road.
The change to Information section location is in no way a diminution in the Department’s regional office structure; 65% of the Department’s 6,300 staff are located outside of Dublin. Sligo was among the first locations within the Department selected for decentralisation, with 450 posts earmarked to decentralise to Sligo in 1989. A further seven successful decentralisation initiatives have followed, with staff and schemes areas administered from Letterkenny, Buncrana, Roscommon, Longford, Dundalk and Waterford.
Within the Department, the movement of staff between roles is ongoing and actively managed to allow the Department respond to changing demands while promoting staff development and better succession planning. Such moves, including the movement of staff from Information Section to other business areas, are supported where necessary by the provision of training and other supports. Other than such costs, the staff changes mentioned will incur no additional cost to the Exchequer. The transfer of staff between locations, whether by way of internal or external transfer lists or redeployment will continue to take place in accordance with all relevant agreements.