Vol. 517 No. 4
166 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for Finance the number of civil servants and staff members of State agencies to be decentralised as part of the measure announced in the budget; the proposed timescale in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10058/00]
In my Budget Statement I announced the Government's intention to embark on a new and extensive programme of decentralisation with the aim of transferring the maximum possible number of public service jobs from Dublin.
When the current programme of decentralisation has been completed there will be 15,500 civil servants in Dublin and 14,000 outside Dublin. There are a further 2,500 Dublin based staff in the non-commercial State-sponsored bodies. I expect that up to 10,000 civil and public servants will be relocated as part of the forthcoming programme. Decisions on the new programme will be taken by the summer. When these decisions have been taken logistical arrangements such as staff training and the provision of suitable accommodation will be addressed.
While it is difficult to be precise about timescales, I estimate that it will be two to three years after decisions are taken on the new programme before the first civil servants are actually in situ in their new locations.
