asked the Minister for the Public Service if he will reconsider the decision to abandon the proposed decentralisation of part of the Department of Justice to Killarney, County Kerry having regard to the social and economic implications for the town; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Decentralisation of Department.
272.
I would like to take this opportunity to state the position on the Civil Service decentralisation programme generally, including that part to which the Deputy's question refers.
The cancellation of this programme was announced by the Minister for Finance in the 1983 Budget in order to save some £5 million in 1983 and a further £40 million in subsequent years. This was a Government decision, and any question of its future reactivation would be a matter for the Government.