McCreevy and the "Dublin Mindset"

sligoliner

McCreevy said that the locations for the civil services offices were picked because of their access to "road and rail routes".

Trim lost it's rail service in 1963

Cavan Town lost it's rail service in 1963

Knock never had a rail service and the Western Rail Corridor (nearest line) lost it's sevice in 1974 and is deemed unviable by the present government even though they are opening offices all allowing new towns and hosuing estate to spring up all along it.

Sounds like a FF re-election ploy and nothing else.

BTW he said no to Carbon Tax and yes to more motorways and tax relife on inner city car parks and Ireland now ofically is one of the most polluted countries in the EU thanks to auto emmisions and we face hundreds of million in fines. But McCreevy is doing everything to increse emmision.

something just ain't right... The road building lobby are spending our taxes and we'll end up paying the fines for our air quality. How come nobody talks about this?

www.platform11.org

Victor

The cogs have started whirring.

http://home.eircom.net/content/irelandcom/topstories/2093969?view=Eircomnet

Senior civil servants question relocation decision
From:ireland.com
Friday, 5th December, 2003

A number of Government Department secretaries general - the State's top civil servants - have raised reservations about plans to move over 10,000 civil and public servants out of Dublin. Mark Hennessy, Political Correspondent, reports.

The senior officials were only told by the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, of his decentralisation plans on Monday afternoon - less than 48 hours before his Budget speech, The Irish Times has learned.

The late notification by the Minister raises questions about the planning that has gone into the State's biggest-ever decentralisation programme, due to be completed in three years.

The secretaries general of the eight affected Departments, along with their Ministers, were told by the Minister for Finance during separate briefings in his Merrion Road offices.

The secrecy surrounding the plan was so tight that Ministers and officials knew only about the plans for their own Departments, and were not given sight of those affecting others.

The top civil servants were reportedly "left stunned" by Mr McCreevy's decision, and a number of them, then and since, have privately questioned the practicality of the plan.

Many now fear that their Departments could lose influence compared to the already powerful Department of Finance and the Department of the Taoiseach.

"I have no doubt that this will concentrate power in Finance and the Taoiseach's, while everybody is split up around the country," one highly-informed source said last night.

Some secretaries general believe that they could lose high-flying officials, who, they fear, will not be attracted by life outside of Dublin, regardless of promises made about future promotion.

Meanwhile, it emerged that Finance repeatedly ignored calls made by trade unions since 1999 to carry out a survey of opinion among staff to test their attitudes to decentralisation.

Eight Departments will leave Dublin. They are those of Agriculture & Food; Arts, Sport and Tourism; Communications, Marine and Natural Resources; Community, Rural & Gaeltacht Affairs; Defence; Education and Science; Environment, Heritage and Local Government; and Social and Family Affairs.

Two more, Foreign Affairs and Justice, Equality and Law Reform, will move hundreds of support staff, as will semi-State companies reporting to transport, such as Bus Éireann and the National Roads Authority.

Decentralisation's merits are widely accepted. "Eighty per cent of this could be done, with some problems, perhaps, but it could be done. The problem is moving key policy staff," said one official, echoing others.

Key departmental decision-makers increasingly have to work in concert with colleagues from other Departments.

"That will be difficult to replicate when everybody is around the country. Video conferencing, e-mails, etc., deal with a lot of those kind of problems, but they don't deal with everything. No other government has ever tried this," said one reliable source.

The Government has not ruled out raising millions of euros by selling or leasing landmark State-owned building, including the Office of Public Works (OPW) headquarters on Stephen's Green, to pave the way for decentralisation, writes Arthur Beesley.

However, the Custom House will not be sold as it is an "exception".

The Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW, Mr Tom Parlon, said last night there were no "major issues" preventing the disposal of other listed buildings which are used by Departments scheduled to move from Dublin.

Sarsfield

A "brave & courageous" decision by a minister to take on so many senior civil servants at once.

Spreading things a little thin methinks. 53 locations did he say? How many local election votes are won per job promised to a town?

I don't see any comment from the National Spatial Strategy on their website. Where are they being sent to?

Capt'n Midnight

What is this decentralisation about anyway ?
It ain't about bringing jobs to deprived areas - 'cos none of the depts are heading to any of the Dublin or Limerick unemployment black spots...

Next question - how many of these places have broadband or the infrastructure to take in more people and traffic and houses - and how much will this cost in "displacement allowances"

How many of these depts have a backlog of work that will be further delayed ????

cyclopath2001

It's not just the votes in the target towns, there's a major windfall for the government in stamp-duty on all those house sales, 154 million if 10,300 houses are sold at average Dublin prices.

For those settled in Dublin, the only incentive would be the possibility of a 100,000 windfall gain on selling up and moving to a cheaper location. But, the announcement could dampen demand in the Dublin second-hand market and will certainly lead to increases in regional prices. Oh, then there's the new service levies too.....

The IT moves could be a ploy to remove 'take-out' senior management and shake-down the Civil Service IT departments so that they can be opened up to out-sourcing of lucrative functions.

Of course, it remains to be seen just how 'voluntary' the moves will be. Staff who want to stay behind could be offered 'crap' jobs.

We live in interesting times.

jd

Interesting to see that neither of the department of Finance, nor the Taoiseach's dept will be decentralised. It is one thing "decentaralising" operational areas, but you need counterbqalances to the bean counters in the department of finance when policy is dicussed

jd

Originally posted by Sarsfield
A "brave & courageous" decision by a minister to take on so many senior civil servants at once.

Spreading things a little thin methinks. 53 locations did he say? How many local election votes are won per job promised to a town?

I don't see any comment from the National Spatial Strategy on their website. Where are they being sent to?

I think it will have have to be reconsidered- countries have capital cities for a reason..
jd

Capt'n Midnight

Originally posted by cyclopath2001
For those settled in Dublin, the only incentive would be the possibility of a 100,000 windfall gain on selling up and moving to a cheaper location

Yeah but it's no use if you ever want to go back to Dublin, and since 1/3 of the population come from the Dublin Area. Also thanks to irish prices many of will belong to two income families out of necessity, how likely is it that the other person can move. And lets not forget the number of waged dependents who are living at home while they try to get a deposit for their own place...

cyclopath2001

Astoundingly, the Government has not bothered to survey people and obtain evidence for the assertion that many people will jumpa the chance to move out of the city. Some will, many will not.

Methinks that the CS is being set up for a public roasting when 'selfish' public servants decline to move & do their bit for the election, sorry, economy.