Decentralisation is impossible, say departments

FINANCE MINISTER Charlie McCreevy’s radical decentralisation plan can not be completed within his three-year time frame.

Reliable sources in several Government departments told the Irish Examiner yesterday it would be impossible for eight Government departments and the Office of Public Work (OPW) to move to 53 towns in rural Ireland by January 2007.

“I would be stunned to see it happen ,” said one well-placed senior official with expertise in the area.