Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 22 February 2006
94 Ms O. Mitchell asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the reason the number of development specialists within Development Co-operation Ireland volunteering for decentralisation has fallen; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6837/06]
Amharc ar fhreagra97 Mr. Boyle asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the progress in the decentralisation of staff from Development Co-operation Ireland to Limerick; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7106/06]
Amharc ar fhreagra161 Ms O. Mitchell asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of senior development specialists with Development Co-operation Ireland volunteering to decentralise; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6821/06]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 94, 97 and 161 together.
Under the Government's decentralisation programme, the development co-operation directorate, DCD, of the Department of Foreign Affairs, currently based in Dublin, will decentralise to Limerick. This is scheduled to take place during the first quarter of 2007 and will involve the relocation to Limerick of 124 posts.
Already, a total of 26 posts in the directorate, including that of director general, are filled by officers who have signalled their intention to decentralise to Limerick. Nine of these officers were already serving within the Department and the remainder is made up of 11 officers who have been recruited from other Departments via the central applications facility, CAF, for Limerick, four who have been assigned from inter-departmental promotion panels and two newly-recruited officers.
In addition, there are currently 15 officers serving elsewhere in the Department, mostly abroad, who have also expressed an interest in decentralising to Limerick. These officers will be assigned to the directorate on a phased basis. The process of recruiting further staff for Limerick via the CAF is now being accelerated. The aim is that, by the second half of 2006, most posts in the directorate will be filled by staff who will decentralise to Limerick. This total of 41 represents some 33% of the posts being transferred to Limerick.
Five officers included in the above total are development specialists, of whom four were recruited since the announcement of the decentralisation programme in December 2003 and one applied via the CAF. Two senior development specialists, and a further four development specialists, who had also applied, have since withdrawn their applications. Those that did so indicated that they did not have sufficient information regarding the conditions of service that would be applicable to specialists transferring to Limerick, or to those that chose to remain in Dublin. Discussions are ongoing with representatives of the specialists, with their union IMPACT, and with the Department of Finance about the issues involved which, of course, also have a wider Civil Service dimension.
