The Agency for Personal Service Overseas (APSO) is closing a number of field offices in Africa this year as part of a winding down of its operations.
APSO, which has sent thousands of Irish volunteers to work in the developing world over the past 30 years, is being subsumed into the Government's development programme, Ireland Aid.
The offices closed so far this year are in Tanzania, Uganda, Nicaragua, Malawi, Burkina Faso and Namibia. Offices in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya and The Gambia are to close by December.
Last year APSO closed its offices in Cambodia and El Salvador. The only remaining office, in Honduras in Central America, will remain open.
The incorporation of APSO into Ireland Aid on a phased basis is expected to take 12 to 18 months to complete, according to the agency's chairman and acting chief executive, Mr Aidan Eames.
Mr Eames has replaced Mr Paul Beggan, who was chief executive of APSO from 1991 to last June, when he resigned. It is understood Mr Beggan, who is now working as a consultant in the development field, received a substantial severance package.
In spite of the closures, APSO's budget has risen from €13.9 million in 2001 to €17.6 this year. Next year, as more support is extended to missionary groups, it is expected to rise to €25-€30 million.
APSO has already moved its offices in Dublin to Ireland Aid's new headquarters at Bishop's Square. The agency's previous premises in Fitzwilliam Square are currently on the market.
It has also phased out the direct funding of long-term placements, and the last of these will finish by September 2003. More than 10,000 Irish doctors, nurses, technicians and other specialists have been sent on two-year placements with APSO since it was set up in 1974.
Mr Eames said no redundancies were planned during the integration process, which would see APSO's remaining staff transfer to Ireland Aid. However, the transfer of staff from a State body to the Civil Service could pose significant industrial relations difficulties. The agency currently employs 28 staff in Dublin.
The integration of APSO into Ireland Aid was recommended in a review of the Government's development programme, published last March. The Cabinet subsequently adopted the report of the review committee, and the implementation of its recommendations forms part of the Programme for Government.
The review committee effectively rejected the agency's arguments that it should be allowed continue as an independent body and be given responsibility for resourcing non-governmental organisations.
The revamp of APSO, including the closure of overseas offices, was originally proposed two years ago in a consultancy report. This said the agency was suffering from ineffective leadership, low staff morale and poor communications. "APSO as a purely personnel-sending agency is becoming obsolete," the consultants KPMG concluded.
