The process of acquiring sites as part of the Government's controversial decentralisation plan is "moving along very well" and could be finished by year's end, the Minister of State at the Department of Finance said today.
Mr Tom Parlon, who is responsible for the Office of Public Works (OPW), said a handful of sites have already been acquired in Carlow and Bamford, and 20 more acquisitions should be completed by the end of July.
With an average of three more sites secured per week from August until the end of the year, the OPW's target will be met, he said.
Mr Parlon, speaking at the publication of the OPW 2003 Annual Report, said the OPW was also in the process of leasing and selling sites it holds in Dublin as part of the relocation strategy.
The Government could save substantial amounts of money through decentralisation by giving up expensive office space in the capital. The OPW leases 400,000 square metres in the capital, worth €110 million.
There are around 14,000 civil servants based outside the capital; more than 15,000 are in Dublin.