Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 17 June 2021
139. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if there are new plans in place for the decentralisation or relocation of public sector jobs from Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32334/21]
View answerThe Programme for Government makes a number of commitments in relation to more balanced regional development. This includes, where possible, the commitment to prioritise the siting of new State Agencies and Government Offices in towns and cities outside of Dublin. While many Departments may traditionally have been headquartered in Dublin, over half of all civil servants are now located outside of Dublin. In the case of my own Department, for example, personnel within my Department and Agencies under my Department are based in several regions throughout the country. This includes a significant payroll operation for the National Shared Services Office that is based in Killarney that undertakes payroll transactions for the entire civil service, as well as procurement operations in Sligo, Limerick and Little Island in Cork.
The vast majority of open competitions for civil service positions, which are advertised by the Public Appointments Service on www.publicjobs.ie, allow for the formation of regional panels to fill regional vacancies as the business need arises at all levels within the civil service. Additionally, my Department operates a Mobility Programme for the civil service whereby eligible civil servants can apply for transfer to another geographic region within the country at their current grade including, for example, from Dublin to Galway or vice versa.
As the Deputy will appreciate, Covid-19 has posed unprecedented challenges for the workforce in both the private sector and public sector in Ireland. It has also afforded new opportunities and innovative ways of working that we are all eager to harness into the future. The Programme for Government commits to an Enterprise Policy as part of the National Development Plan to enable increased remote, flexible and hub-working arrangements to promote better work-life balance, higher female labour market participation, less commuting, and greater regional balance.
