Civil Servants Transported!

Minister for Finance publishes two reports from Decentralisation Implementation Group

The Minister for Finance, Mr. Brian Cowen T.D., today (24 November 2004) published two reports submitted to him by the Decentralisation Implementation Group (DIG) chaired by Mr Phil Flynn. The recommendations in both reports have been accepted by the Government.

The first report deals with the selection of organisations/locations for inclusion in the first phase of moves. The second deals with the financial implications of the office accommodation aspects of the programme and the procurement methodology. Both reports are available on the decentralisation section of the Department of Finance website at www.finance.gov.ie.

The Minister said “It is less than a year since this major Government programme was announced. It has since been demonstrated clearly that there is substantial interest in the programme among civil and public servants. The reports being published today, and the earlier reports from the Flynn Group, show that implementation of the programme is well on track.”

The first report published today lists fifteen Government departments/offices which should be the first to relocate outside of Dublin. This would involve twenty-one projects, twenty locations, nearly 3,500 jobs and the transfer of eight headquarters. The report contains a schedule showing indicative construction start and completion dates for the procurement of office accommodation in the new locations. All except four projects would get underway in 2005: eight would finish in 2006, nine in 2007 and four in 2008.

The Group suggests that a more individualised approach to implementation be adopted for the State agencies. It identifies seven agencies/locations, involving over 700 jobs, which should receive initial priority attention. The report also contains recommendations about how decentralisation of Garda Headquarters and the Defence Forces (500 jobs in all) and ICT posts (nearly 1,000 jobs) can be advanced. It says it will report again in the spring of 2005 and will deal in that report with the locations/organisations not specifically listed in the current report (i.e. approximately 4,700 jobs).

The second report being released today contains a financial assessment of the office accommodation aspects the decentralisation programme. The Minister explained that the detailed costs/savings figures provided by the DIG could not be published because of the commercially sensitive nature of the material. However, the key findings are:-

· in the years 2006 to 2010 there is an increasingly negative cumulative cash flow as the site acquisition, construction and lease exit costs exceed the proceeds from the disposal of surplus owned property in Dublin and the rental savings;
· thereafter, the rental savings act to reduce, and eventually eliminate, the negative cumulative cash flow to the State;
· from 2026 onwards the cumulative discounted cash flow becomes positive; and
· at the end of that period, the State owns all the buildings in the decentralised locations and the annual rental savings would continue to accrue.

The Minister said he would be dealing with the capital costs of procuring office accommodation in the decentralised locations when he announced the revised multi-annual capital investment envelopes on Budget day.

The Group is recommending a twin-track approach to the procurement of office accommodation in the new locations. A PPP approach, involving Design Build Maintain and Finance, is to be adopted for the larger projects – assuming that it demonstrates value for money in each case. A Design and Build approach is to be used for the smaller projects where the value of the project would not be sufficient to generate an economically viable proposition for private sector investment.

Finally, the Minister said that a separate report had been prepared by Deloittes for the DIG dealing with the potential non-property costs and savings which could arise under the programme. This report is also being made available today on the Department of Finance’s website.


ENDS



Note for Editors

The Group recommends that the civil service departments/offices set out in Table 1 of its report (reproduced below) be included in the first phase of moves.

Table 1
Location Organisation Posts
Clonakilty Department of Communications, Marine & Natural Resources 91
Drogheda Department of Social and Family Affairs HQ 215
Drogheda Department of Communications, Marine & Natural Resources 47
Killarney Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism HQ 141
Kilrush Revenue Commissioners 50
Listowel Revenue Commissioners 50
Newcastle West Revenue Commissioners 50
Limerick Department of Foreign Affairs 125
Longford Irish Prisons Service 159
Loughrea Department of Transport 40
Newbridge Department of Defence HQ 202
Portlaoise Department of Agriculture HQ 392
Sligo Department of Social & Family Affairs 100
Trim Office of Public Works HQ 333
Tullamore Department of Finance 135
Total 2130

The Group also recommends that the organisations set out in Table 2 of its report (reproduced below) be regarded as potential “early movers” and should plan accordingly.

Table 2
Location Organisation Posts
Athlone Department of Education & Science 108
Carlow Department of Enterprise, Trade & Employment 313
Carrick-on-Shannon Department of Social & Family Affairs 220
Knock Airport Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs HQ 164
Mullingar Department of Education and Science HQ 299
Wexford Department of Environment, Heritage & Local Government HQ 258
Total 1362

The Group sets out in Table 3 of its report (reproduced below) seven State agencies and locations that should receive initial priority attention in terms of implementing the programme.

Table 3
Location Organisation Posts
Birr FAS 390.5
Clonakilty BIM 94
Drogheda Comhairle 47.5
Dundalk Sustainable Energy Ireland 40
Loughrea National Safety Council 12
Portarlington National Council for Curriculum and Assessment 28
Thomastown Health and Safety Authority 111
Total 723