Vol. 557 No. 1
69 Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Minister for Finance the way in which the state of the public finances will affect his proposed decentralisation programme; the position with regard to the decentralisation programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21601/02]
The Government is committed to moving forward the progressive decentralisation of Government offices and agencies, taking the national spatial strategy into account. This commitment was reiterated in An Agreed Programme for Government. As I have said on many occasions of late, there is a wide range of important issues that must be taken into consideration before a final decision is taken on the matter. It is vital that all involved are consulted, be they staff concerned about their future or departmental management concerned about the delivery of the public services for which they have responsibility.
Given these wide-ranging considerations it is not possible for me to state at this time when the Government will be in a position to take a decision on the issue of decentralisation. The Deputies may be assured that the submissions and representations which have been made will all be taken into account as part of the deliberative process.
The Minister is human after all.
Is the Minister aware that it is over two years since I last tabled this question, on 26 October 2000? He said then that the Government would be in a position, by the end of that year, to make a decision in relation to a new programme of decentralisation. Why have we seen no real progress on the massive decentralisation, involving more than 10,000 civil servants, which was promised in the Minister's budget speech in December 1999? If it could not be delivered then, when there was a so-called economic boom, what prospect is there of delivering on the promises of that speech now?
Has the Cabinet committee on decentralisation, which formally comprised the Minister for Finance and the Taoiseach among others, been re-established since the general election and, if so, has it met?
As I have pointed out on many occasions, my announcement in December 1999 gave rise to more expectation than even I could have envisaged at the time. Arising from that statement, we received over 130 submissions from cities, towns and villages throughout the country looking for offices to be decentralised to them.
Was the Minister's statement a mistake?
No, I do not think it was a mistake but, as Deputy McGrath knows, every big town in County Westmeath has made a great case for decentralisation, with towns in Donegal, Leitrim and elsewhere. I do not think there is a town in the country which has not made its case for decentralisation.
Clane has not.
Order. These are Priority Questions and, as such, are confined to the Deputies who put the questions.
Clane has a decentralised office which has been there since before my time.
It is not in order for the Minister to respond.
The Minister was responsible for it.
Funnily enough, I was not responsible for it. I think three people, who work for the Department of Health and Children, were temporarily located there. I think the assistant secretary of the Department decided to put an office there but I did not know about it until a year ago, and he may have moved on by now.
I understand the concern of the many towns which feel that decentralised offices have passed them by and I sympathise with every place that wants to get its share of the action, but that has led to enormous pressure to take all the factors into account. Some towns made major presentations at considerable cost to their local authorities and they must be considered with issues regarding the more efficient delivery of public services. It was not possible to evaluate everything before the last election and whatever I did at that time would have been regarded as being for political purposes. I decided long ago that no place would be included or excluded on the basis of political considerations.
The Cabinet sub-committee which sat during the last Administration has not met since the formation of the new Government but will do so in the near future.
The Minister said that no place will be included, and that is exactly what has happened.
I also said that no place would be excluded.
He also said that he had more expectation, but that has led to zero delivery. Did the Minister underestimate in this area too? Does he recognise that a real decentralisation programme is long overdue, in the first instance, in relation to the needs of the capital city which is choking with traffic and where the price of houses available to young couples is unacceptable? Does he further recognise the associated benefits which would accrue to the areas toward which decentralisation would be targeted? Does the Minister realise that outside what is regarded as the more developed eastern and southern seaboard, areas such as Monaghan and other Border locations have long been neglected. They have received no industrial support or inward investment courtesy of Government agencies in recent years. Decentralisation offers a real prospect to communities to develop and an opportunity for civil servants to find quality of life and for the capital city some relief from traffic gridlock, spiralling house prices and all the other associated problems. When will we see real delivery in this area?
I cannot disagree with anything the Deputy has said but a number of criteria, which I referred to earlier, must be considered. I know at first hand the difficulties of getting into and out of the capital city each day and how far people are travelling to and from Dublin. One benefit of the delay, if one can call it that, since 1999 has been a realisation on the part of higher civil service management and some trade union representatives of the desire of many of their staff and members in the capital who would like, for all the reasons the Deputy alludes to, to move to other parts of the country but there are other criteria which must be borne in mind. I must also ensure efficient and effective delivery of services. There is no point announcing a big department for a town or village which does not have the infrastructure to support it. We could announce it and it might not take place. I am considering all the criteria the Deputy mentioned.
