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OurRef:FOI/REQ/05/028MsJoanHurton
TO.
D<iil
Eireann
LeinsterHouseDublin223November2005DearDeputyBurtonIrefertoyourrequestdated25thOctober2005madeundertheFreedomofInformationAct,1997(FOIAct)foraccesstorecordsheldbythisDepartment.
Inresponsetoyourrequest,Ihavedecidedtograntyourrequestastosomerecordsorpartsofrecords,andtorefuseitastoothers.Thepurposeofthisletteristoexplainthatdecision.Thisexplanationhasthefollowingparts:
1.ascheduleofalloftherecordscoveredbyyourrequest;2.anstatementoutliningthedecisionreachedinrespectofeachrecord;and3.astatementofhowyoucanappealthisdecisionshouldyouwishtodoso.
1.
Scheduleofrecords
Thescheduleisattachedattheendofthisletter.Itdescribeseachdocumentcoveredbyyourrequest,andindicateswhetheraccesstothedocumenthasbeengranted,partgrantedorrefused.Partgranteddocumentsareamixofmaterial,someofwhichcanbereleased,andsomeofwhichiswithheld(seeheading2below).Fordocumentsnotedpartgrantedorrefused,theschedulereferstothesectionsoftheFOIActwhichapply.
2.Decisionreached
AsyourrequestisamixtureofseekinginformationandseekingaccesstodocumentsaboutparticularissuesinrelationtotheproposedmoveoftheDepartment'sDevelopmentCooperationDirectoratetoLimerick,Ihavedealtwitheachindividualelementofyourrequestseparately.Theseelementsfallinto5broadcategorieswhichIhavenumbered1-5andineachcaseIhaveprovidedtheuptodatepositionintheparticularmatter.Ihavefound17recordswhichcomewithinthescopeofthisrequestandgivedetailsofmyfindingsbelow:
--~~
 
1.
Recordsdealingwiththepurchasepriceoflandatthedecentralisedlocation,the
size
ofthesite,thesquarefootageof
any
buildingsproposed,thecostpersquarefootoflandforbuildingandthecostcompleted,thecostof
any
ancillaryservicesrelatingtositeacquisitionanddevelopmentincluding
all
professional
fees,
legal
fees,
auctioneering
fees,
andotheradvisory
fees,
and
any
otherservices,
IhavecheckedwiththeDepartment'sAccommodationUnitandtheyhaveconfirmedthatthisDepartmentholdsnorecordsrelevanttothispartofyourrequest.
TheOfficeofPublicWorks(OPW)istheorganisationchargedwiththeresponsibilityofprocuringsuitableaccommodationfortheDepartmentunderthedecentralisationprogrammeandassuchwouldholdanyrecordswhichwouldcomeunderthescopeofthisheading.IhavepassedacopyofyourrequesttotheOPWandyoumaywishtofollowthematterupwiththem.YoumaywishtonotethatIunderstandthatOPWarecurrentlyconsideringapotentialsiteintheLimerickCityareawithaviewtodeterminingifitmeetstheDepartment'sneeds.2.
theimplementationscheduleforthedecentralisationprogrammeincludingexpecteddatesofoccupationandthecompletionofprocess
TheDirectorateisscheduledtomovetoLimerickduringthefirstquarterof
2007.
Ihavefoundonerecord(RecordNo.1)whichcomeswithinthescopeofthisheading,theDepartment'scurrentDecentralisationImplementationPlanofMarch
2005
withassociatedappendices,includinga"TimetableforAction".Thisrecordisreleasedinfull.3.
numbersofstaffagreeingto
move
andnumbersofstaffdecliningtomove,
Ihavepreparedatable(RecordNo.7)whichshowsthenumbersofformaloffersofdecentralisationacceptedandoffersdeclinedtodate.AnumberofstaffwhohaveexpressedaninterestindecentralisinghavealreadybeenassignedtoDCD.ItisplannedshortlytomakeofferstoremainingstaffintheDepartmentwhohaveappliedtodecentralisetoLimerick.4.any
recordsdealingwiththestrategicimplicationsforthefutureoftheorganisation,
any
problemsarising
asa
consequence:forexample,lossofexpertise,lossofinstitutional
memory,
reducedservicestoclientsandcustomers,
Ihavefoundsevenrecords(No's2,3,4,11,12,13and14)whichcomewithinthescopeofthispartofyourrequest.Records2,3and4arebeingreleasedinfull.AccesstoRecords11,12,13,14isbeingpartgranted.Thereasonswhycertainpartsoftheserecordshavebeenredactedissetoutbelow:
Section19(1)(a)oftheActstatesthataccessmayberefusedtoarecordiftherecordcontainsinformationthathasbeen,orisproposedtobe,submittedtothe-'
 
GovernmentfortheirconsiderationbyaMinisteroftheGovernmentortheAttorneyGeneral.Asrecord14containsdetailsofamatterthatmaybesubmittedtoGovernment,therelevantparagraphhasbeenredactedunderSection19(1)(a).Section20(1)(b)statesthataccessmayberefusedtoarecordiftherecordconcernedcontainsmatterrelatingtothedeliberativeprocessesofthepublicbodyconcerned(includingopinions,advice,recommendations,andtheresultsofconsultations,consideredbythebody,theheadofthebodyorofthestaffofthebodyforthepurposeoftheseprocesses).
Records12and13containinformationinrelationtovariousaccommodationoptions.Asthesemattersarethesubjectofongoingnegotiationsanddeliberations,Iamunabletoprovideaccesstothesepartsoftherecordsatthistime.Section21(1)(a)and(c)statethataccessmayberefusedtoarecordifaccesstotherecordcouldreasonablybeexpectedtohaveasignificant,adverseeffectontheperformancebythebodyofanyofitsfunctionsrelatingtomanagement(includingindustrialrelationsandmanagementofitsstaff),orifaccesswoulddisclosepositionstaken,ortobetaken,orplans,procedures,criteriaorinstructionsusedorfollowed,ortobeusedorfollowed,forthepurposeofanynegotiationscarriedonorbeing,ortobe,carriedonbyoronbehalfoftheGovernmentorapublicbody.
Partsofrecords11,12,13and14containdetailsofproposalsand/orplansrelatingtostaffingissues.ReleaseatthistimewouldimpacttheabilityoftheDepartmenttofulfilitshumanresourcemanagementrole.
Priortorefusingtoreleaserecordsundersections20and21,Iamrequiredtoconsiderthepublicinterestindecidingwhethertograntorrefuseaccess.AsrecordsofthisnaturecontainopinionsandviewsthatarenecessarytoensuretheintegrityofthedecisionmakingprocessintheDepartment,releaseatthisstagewouldunderminetheviabilityofthisdeliberativeprocesstoasignificantdegree.5.
anydirectiveorinstruction
received
fromseniormanagement,theministeror
governmentrelatingtoabove.
Records15,16and17arerecordsofaGovernmentdecisionandareexemptfromreleaseunderSection19(1)(b)whichstatesthataccesstoarecordmayberefusedifitisarecordoftheGovernmentotherthanarecordbywhichadecisionoftheGovernmentispublishedtothegeneralpublicbyoronbehalfoftheGovernment.Althoughnotstrictlywithinthescopeofyourrequest,Iamreleasingtwoadditionalrecords(No's5and6).TheserecordsarecommunicationsfromtheSecretaryGeneraloftheDepartmenttoallstaffintheDepartmentregardingDecentralisation.
Ialsoencloseforthreerecords(Nos.8,9and10)i.e.Ministerialanswersto
-
of 00

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