McCreevy puts civil servants on the move

CHARLIE McCREEVY is allowing less than four months to figure out a way to put his decentralisation into action.

The minister last night appointed a six-member implementation committee to put wheels under the plan and slapped a March 2004 deadline on them for releasing the brakes.

Their task will be to survey all 53 towns which will be the new locations of an almost equal number of Government departments and agencies; assess accommodation needs and gaps in infrastructure such as the availability of broadband communications technology; and come up with ways of meeting the demands.