A major decentralisation programme for the Civil Service was announced on budget day, 3 December 2003. It is intended that a significant proportion of the programme will be completed over the next three years. As far as my Department is concerned, the programme involves moving the Department out of Dublin to a number of locations, and this will be done on a phased basis. Arrangements are being put in place in the Department to implement the programme as it affects the Department. At this stage, the details, including the timetable for the move of the Department's headquarters to Drogheda have not been worked out.
A decision on the future location of the Department's information system division will be made at a later stage. As referred to in the Budget Statement, this relocation will demand extreme care. The implementation committee which is being established to drive forward the decentralisation programme overall will examine this issue separately and report to Government by March 2004.
As regards this programme generally, a primary concern is to ensure that service delivery is maintained at a high standard during the implementation of the programme.
