The number of public servants willing to relocate from Dublin under the Government's decentralisation programme is a cause for concern. The quality of public administration is under threat from this half-baked scheme and no proper cost/benefit analysis has been conducted to justify the risks. Loss of corporate knowledge and disruption of services are practically guaranteed.
The cavalier response by the Minister of State responsible for decentralisation, Tom Parlon, is par for the course. The Government, he said yesterday, would have no difficulty in filling "early mover" posts. But filling public service posts with inexperienced officials must not become the purpose of this exercise. Improving the quality of service to consumers, securing better value for money and providing more effective administration is what the public wants.
Just a year ago, the Government effectively acknowledged that its plans to relocate 10,000 public and civil servants out of Dublin by 2007 were unworkable. Instead, 2,000 officials would be appointed to local offices by the end of 2008. However, many of those who have applied for these positions already work in decentralised offices. An extremely poor response has been forthcoming from senior officials. Figures secured by Fine Gael show that only one in nine plans to move with their existing jobs under a programme that envisages the decentralisation of eight government departments. That is a worst-case scenario. Some officials may be prepared to transfer to a separate agency or to a different department. However, the figures emphasise continuing difficulties with this badly-planned and politically-motivated exercise. And they pose a danger to good governance by fragmentation of policy-making.
Some €300 million has been raised through the sale of State properties to fund the programme. But while that might help to pay for new offices, the loss of experienced staff across a broad swathe of the public service could do incalculable damage to the economy. Many young public servants favour the programme since it offers an end to long commutes and promises better promotional prospects, cheaper housing and a better quality of family life. But middle and senior management, settled in Dublin and with children at university, are fiercely opposed. Among "early movers", only 7 per cent of staff at the Department of Tourism will leave Dublin for Killarney. Five members of Fás want to fill 250 jobs in Birr. And there has been no take-up whatsoever from Fáilte Ireland and Bord Iascaigh Mhara for positions in Killarney and Clonakilty. The Government should revise its plans.