The Government will brief senior trade union figures this morning on a timetable for the decentralisation initiative in which large parts of the project are likely to be delayed.
The meeting on the "phased" implementation of the project was scheduled last night amid strong indications that the Minister for Finance, Mr Cowen, was preparing to step back from the controversial commitment to move 53 Departments and agencies from Dublin by 2007.
With the number of civil and public servants who have expressed an interest in moving from Dublin falling well short of the Government's target, the briefing comes ahead of an update which is expected in next week's Budget.
Decentralisation was the centrepiece in the final Budget delivered last year by Mr Cowen's predecessor, Mr Charlie McCreevy.
The former finance minister always insisted that the Government would meet its target of moving some 10,300 Dublin-based officials in 53 bodies from the city by 2007. However, a new report from the group set up to advise the Government on the controversial project has found that only 10-15 Departments and agencies can be moved within the next three years.
Ministers are believed to have endorsed the central findings of the report when they considered it at yesterday's Cabinet meeting. The findings take note of the latest figures from the Government website which suggest that only 4,245 Dublin-based officials are willing to move.
The greatest level of interest was among civil servants, with only relatively few public servants indicating any willingness to move.
The report from the group chaired by Mr Phil Flynn is understood to say that the process of moving more than 10 Departments and agencies to new locations can begin immediately and can be substantially completed by 2007 or before then.
It is also understood to say that the bodies with the greatest take-up of interest among civil and public servants should move first. This suggests that the locations in the Dublin commuter belt will be prioritised in the first phase of the project as these are the ones that attracted the most interest from officials.
The last staff survey in September identified towns such as Carlow, Newbridge, Drogheda and Portarlington as the most popular choices among staff interested in moving.
However, it is believed the Government will give the go-ahead to move some bodies to locations outside Dublin's immediate hinterland.
While the exact timing of the moves will depend on the availability of office space in the new locations, the report says the Government should take account of "continuity of business" issues when deciding when to move staff.
