Enda Kenny
Ceist:10 Mr. Kenny asked the Taoiseach the number of his Department’s staff who have applied for relocation under the Government’s decentralisation programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39777/05]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 28 February 2006
Ceisteanna (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
Trevor Sargent
Ceist:11 Mr. Sargent asked the Taoiseach the implications of decentralisation for his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1241/06]
Amharc ar fhreagra
Joe Higgins
Ceist:12 Mr. J. Higgins asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the implementation of the decentralisation programme as it affects his Department. [1864/06]
Amharc ar fhreagra
Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin
Ceist:13 Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the Civil Service relocation programme as it affects his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3214/06]
Amharc ar fhreagra
Pat Rabbitte
Ceist:14 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Taoiseach the number of staff within his Department by grade who have applied for relocation under the decentralisation programme; if an assessment has been carried out of the implications for his Department of the transfer of such staff; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4185/06]
Amharc ar fhreagraFreagraí ó Béal (31 píosaí cainte)
I propose to take Questions Nos. 10 to 14, inclusive, together.
Forty-five staff currently serving in my Department have applied through the central applications facility to relocate under the decentralisation programme. The breakdown by grade is as follows: assistant principal, nine; higher executive officer, four; administrative officer, ten; executive officer, ten; staff officer, two; and clerical officer, ten. Three former members of staff have been assigned to decentralised posts.
Arrangements are in place to ensure that the decentralisation of staff does not impact negatively on the quality of the services provided by the Department. These arrangements include the phased redeployment of some of the remaining staff to the areas of the Department most affected by decentralisation and the provision of training and job profiles or work manuals to new staff, as appropriate. That almost 22% of the staff of the Department have opted to relocate outside Dublin shows the underlying decision to initiate a comprehensive decentralisation programme was correct.
Does the Taoiseach have information on the Departments and locations to which the officials in question have applied to be transferred? The Taoiseach will recall that when the former Minister for Finance announced at the end of December 2003 that the Government intended to pursue a programme of decentralisation, he indicated that 10,300 public servants would be decentralised from Dublin within a three-year period. It seems that the programme is now in deep trouble.
The questions before the House relate to 45 members of staff in the Department of the Taoiseach. I would prefer if we moved on.
The Ceann Comhairle waited patiently for 45 seconds before jumping in at the first opportunity.
The Chair does not have any choice in the matter.
He leapt in as soon as I mentioned the relevance of this issue to anything outside the Department of the Taoiseach.
The questions refer specifically to the Department of the Taoiseach. I understand that similar questions have been tabled to the Minister for Finance.
The Ceann Comhairle did not let me finish my question.
I am sure the Deputy will have an opportunity to ask supplementary questions on the matter then.
I was not allowed to finish my question.
Perhaps the Taoiseach will refer to the implementation bodies.
I am sure he will be more exact than the Deputy was in his remark about exports last week.
Does the Taoiseach have information about the locations to which the officials in the Department of the Taoiseach have applied to be decentralised? Do they wish to be transferred to other locations in Dublin or to places outside Dublin? It was originally announced that 10,300 public servants would be relocated to 53 places inside three years, but it is obvious that will not happen now. I would like to find out where the officials in the Department of the Taoiseach, which is quite small, are going. Will they be replaced by new officials who will be assigned to the Department of the Taoiseach?
As I said, 22% of the staff of the Department of the Taoiseach have opted to relocate outside Dublin. It is obvious that no section of that Department is to be decentralised. It is a question of what individuals across all Departments are doing within the system. Some 10,600 people, or 100 a month, are hoping to transfer to the Departments which are to be decentralised. That is what is going on in the current system.
Does the Taoiseach have the relevant information for the Department of the Taoiseach? Statistics in respect of all Departments were published last week.
That information is available. I do not have information on what individuals are doing. The Deputy can take it that the officials who wish to be transferred have applied to be located in sections which are to be transferred to locations outside Dublin. People in the Department of the Taoiseach are aware that they will not get out over——
Only one in ten public servants wants to leave Dublin.
We cannot have a debate on the matter now. Two of the oral questions which will be answered shortly by the Minister for Finance, who is responsible for the decentralisation programme, relate to this issue.
I want to know about the Department of the Taoiseach only.
No, you are talking about thousands of civil servants.
I am not.
There are only 45 civil servants involved in that Department.
I am asking the Taoiseach whether he has information about the staff in that Department. Will they be replaced by means of other recruitment within the public service?
That is what will happen. Officials in the Department of the Taoiseach are transferring to other Departments, in Dublin or elsewhere, which are to be decentralised. They are doing that because it is the only way they can position themselves for decentralisation, and that is fair enough. The percentage of staff at each grade in the Department of the Taoiseach to have applied is as follows. Some 28% of staff at assistant principal level have applied, as have 17% of staff at higher executive officer level, 53% of staff at administrative officer level, 38% of staff at executive officer level, 14% of staff at staff officer level and 19% of staff at clerical officer level. That is happening across Departments.
While it will take time to go through the system and we will not complete the process in three years, it is patently obvious that there is a demand among people in the Civil Service to move to other locations. It will take time for that to happen because new sites have to be acquired and offices have to be built, and all that is being done. Some 45 officials in the Department of the Taoiseach, or 22% of the total, have put themselves on the list so that they can ultimately be decentralised.
Dúirt an Taoiseach i mí na Samhna seo caite go raibh timpeall 20% dá fhoireann le dílárnú, cé nach bhfuil a Roinn féin le dílárnú. Has the Taoiseach factored in a cost for retraining those who replace his decentralised staff members? Does he even intend to replace such staff members? Does he expect his staff to have moved out before the next general election? Are any members of his staff who volunteered for decentralisation in line for promotion? Has that policy been stopped following the Labour Court decision regarding FÁS? Was there an expectation that promotion would accompany a willingness to decentralise from his Department?
Does the Taoiseach recall that his response to this question the last day was that 42 of his Department's staff had applied for decentralisation? Have a further three staff applied since then? Does he expect that more staff members may seek relocation? Does he recall stating on the same occasion that members of staff in his Department who move to the relocated offices of other Departments must be replaced by civil servants of the same grade? In that regard, has he received a letter from IMPACT on the issue of decentralisation? The Minister for Foreign Affairs indicated that new staff would have to be recruited——
That does not arise in questions to the Taoiseach. The Minister for Finance will answer questions later.
Has the Taoiseach responded to the letter from IMPACT? Can he clarify his position on the issue?
Given that less than 10% of civil servants have applied for decentralisation three years after it was first announced, does the Taoiseach have any concerns that we will end up with a parallel Civil Service? Since it is proving difficult to get the appropriate persons in the appropriate Department to transfer, we may end up having a dual system in some Departments, where we will simply recruit the expertise——
The question may only refer to the Taoiseach's Department. The Minister for Finance will answer questions shortly.
There is ongoing training for staff members who come into the Department or who move from one Department to another. There are now around 10,500 people on the list. What happens before the next general election is relevant to the decentralisation process. The public service is non-political. I was Minister for Finance in the early 1990s when the Government last implemented a decentralisation programme. It was an ambitious programme involving thousands of people. People claimed that it would never happen and that it would not work, but it worked perfectly, even though it took longer than we thought. Industrial relations must be taken into account and these issues must be negotiated. Everyone knows these offices now work successfully and that the services provided are top class. The same will happen with this programme. It takes time to work and it cannot be done other than by negotiation and preparation. Locating sites and designs will take time. We have the support of the public servants and, in particular, the civil servants on this issue.