5,000 public servants stay put as decentralisation is unlikely

LATEST OFFICIAL figures show that plans to decentralise over 5,000 public servants have been deferred, while just 2,500 people have moved under the plan announced in 2003.

The figures from the Department of Finance show that another 3,500 public servants are still in the process of being decentralised but have not yet been moved.

Plans to move 5,140 people to 50 locations were deferred in the Budget and it is now widely accepted that the moves will never take place.

The biggest group affected are 378 staff of Fás who were due to relocate to Birr, Co Offaly, but that move will not now take place in spite of the fact that an advance party has already moved to new accommodation there.

The same applies to 226 staff of Enterprise Ireland who will not now be moving to Shannon although an advance party is also in place there.

A move to Cavan by 244 civil servants in the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources has also been put on hold despite some staff having already made the move.

A number of other locations with advance parties already decentralised will not now get the numbers originally planned. Among them are Athy, Co Kildare, where 180 officials from the Revenue Commissioners were due to join colleagues, Thomastown, Co Kilkenny, where 83 members of the Health and Safety Authority were due to move, and Thurles, Co Tipperary, where 66 more people from Garda headquarters were due to go.

A hold has also been placed on the transfer of 25 people from the Equality Authority to Roscrea, Co Tipperary, and the same applies to the move of 23 people from the Garda Ombudsman Commission to Roscrea. The transfer of 34 civil servants to the Equality Tribunal in Portarlington, Co Laois, has also been put on hold.

One of the biggest planned moves that has been deferred is that of 380 officials of the Revenue Commissioners to Kildare town. Just over 300 officials from the Health Service Executive will not now move to Naas, Co Kildare, while the transfer of 163 people from Fáilte Ireland to Mallow, Co Cork, and 100 from the Department of Agriculture to Macroom, Co Cork, are in the same category.

Other transfers which have been deferred include 225 people from the Department of the Environment who were due to go to Waterford, 258 from the Department of Social and Family Affairs who were to go to Donegal town and 100 Agriculture officials who were listed to go to Fermoy in Co Cork. Dungarvan in Co Waterford will not now get 206 officials from the Ordnance Survey of Ireland while almost 190 public servants are no longer scheduled to move to Drogheda, Co Louth.