Vol. 577 No. 3
154 Mr. Gilmore asked the Minister for Defence if he has consulted the boards or management or staff of the agencies under the aegis of his Department in regard to proposals to decentralise; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30947/03]
There are four bodies under the aegis of my Department, namely the Army Pensions Board, Coiste an Asgard, the Irish Red Cross Society and the Civil Defence Board.
The Deputy will be aware that, in the context of the White Paper on Defence, the Government decided to decentralise the Civil Defence branch of my Department to Roscrea, County Tipperary. It is expected that the move will take place early in the summer of next year. Staff unions-associations have been kept informed of developments and detailed discussions will take place with the unions-associations as necessary. There are no plans to decentralise any of the other three bodies under the aegis of my Department.
