Vol. 441 No. 1
70 Mr. Haughey asked the Minister for Social Welfare the offices under the control of his Department which have been relocated from Dublin under the decentralisation programme since the year 1987; the locations of the new offices; the number of jobs transferred; and the further proposals, if any, he has in this regard.
My Department has participated in three decentralisation projects under the Government's programme. In 1989, the administration of pensions and related schemes was relocated to the Pensions Services Office in Sligo. Some 319 posts were transferred at that time. Additional schemes and functions have been added and there are 383 posts in the Pensions Services Office at present giving an annual boost to the local economy in wages and salaries of approximately £4.5 million.
In 1990-91, 176 posts were transferred to Letterkenny when the administration of child benefit and treatment benefit was relocated. This has resulted in an injection into the economy of the area of about £1.9 million annually.
In 1993-94, the administration of a number of schemes, which included invalidity pensions, family income supplement, maternity benefit, death grants, long term disability benefit and unemployment assistance, disablement benefit and pre-retirement allowance, was relocated to Longford. To date, 178 posts have been transferred. It is expected that about 20 extra posts will be transferred in due course. The local economy will benefit by some £3 million per annum in wages and salaries.
My Department is scheduled to transfer 25 posts to Waterford under the next phase of the decentralisation programme, work on which is due to get under way in the next two years.
The three decentralisation projects undertaken by my Department to Sligo, Letterkenny and Longford have all been very successful and the staff who transferred have settled in very well. The relocation of such a significant number of posts has done much to stem the outflow from these towns and their hinterlands of many of the local population and has brought a much needed £9.4 million annual boost to the economies of the areas concerned.
