Around 50 staff in the Department of Agriculture will be the first public service workers to move from Dublin as part of the decentralisation plan announced by the Minster for Finance in the Budget last December.
Because the introduction of the Single Payment Scheme replaces a variety of schemes scrapped under decoupling, the department is locating a central processing section for the new payments in Portlaoise.
But Opposition parties are questioning the motive behind the announcement.
Mr Walsh, announced the civil servants will be moving in the coming weeks to Portlaoise where 250 department staff are already based.
The announcement has been greeted with scepticism by Fine Gael spokesman Mr Billy Timmins, who said the announcement may be nothing more than an election stunt to buy farmers' support. Labour spokesperson, Dr Mary Upton, said the move was a "cynical" action by a Government "desperate for votes".
The staff are being relocated to Progressive Democrat TD Mr Tom Parlon's constituency. Mr Parlon is the Minster of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works (OPW), which has responsibility for implementing decentralisation.
Mr Timmins's doubts were also spurred by Mr Walsh's indication that temporary offices for the staff are being sought but have not yet been identified.
The announcement is reminiscent of a 65,000-tonne shipment of beef to Egypt just before Election 2002, the Fine Gael TD said.
"From that day to this it has been the only such shipment. This Government has used decentralisation as an election stunt from the beginning and today's announcement simply continues the trend," he added.
Mr Walsh said transfers would continue on a phased basis until the decentralisation process is complete, bringing the total staff numbers in Portlaoise to 650.
Mr Walsh said: "I think there will be a considerable number of civil servants volunteering to go to various locations throughout the country."
The Minister for Finance Mr McCreevy welcomed the announcement today saying the department was "blazing a trail which I look forward to others following".
The department already has staff based in Wexford, Cavan, Castlebar in Co Mayo and in Portlaoise in Co Laois.