Decentralization Plan ‘Botched’
By frank shouldice
Government plans to decentralize civil service employees from Dublin
have met with stiff resistance within staff. Only one in nine employees
have said they are prepared to relocate with their job. Most government
departments are situated in the capital, but the decentralization program
aims to move 7,400 workers to a variety of locations around the country.
With just 753 applications received for transfer, the unwillingness of
departmental staff to relocate could pose serious problems, particularly
in specialized agencies such as the Ordinance Survey of Ireland (marked
for Dungarvan, Co. Waterford) and Development Corporation Ireland (with
123 staff earmarked to move to new premises in Limerick).
The proposed transfer of a number of state bodies – Pobail (headed
to Clifden, Co. Galway), Bórd Iascaigh Mhara (to Clonakilty, Co.
Cork) and Fáilte Ireland (to Killarney, Co. Kerry) – revealed
that no staff member had taken up the offer of relocation. “The
potential loss of experience and knowledge by these agencies and units
is alarming,” claimed Fine Gael finance spokesman Richard
Bruton, describing the whole program as “a botched job” that
called for immediate review.
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