€20m to be spent on decentralisation

Charlie McCreevy has announced that up to 12,000 civil servants are to be relocated out of Dublin in 2004.

Eight government departments and organisations are to be moved to 53 centres in provincial locations. The relocated departments will retain offices close to government buildings to allow ministers and officials conduct business when in Dublin, the Minister said.

He told the Dáil the move was targeting the relocation of 10,300 jobs but that it could eventually result in up to 12,000 staff being moved out of the capital.

The Finance Minister envisions that a new culture will evolve from this decentralisation as opposed to the "Dublin mindset" that currently exists.

He stressed that the units will be big enough to ensure promotion opportunities for the individuals involved, which had not been a feature of previous decentralisation measures, as he admitted.