The Government has abandoned plans to move hundreds of Revenue Commissioners computer staff out of Dublin after the State's top tax collector warned it would cause chaos in the organisation, writes Mark Hennessy, Political Correspondent.
Under the Government's original decentralisation plans, Revenue's information, communications and technology (ICT) staff should have moved to Kildare by the end of 2007. This was subsequently revised to the end of 2009.
However, it has been learned that Revenue chairman Frank Daly opposed the decision, and strongly voiced his objections to Minister for Finance Brian Cowen.
In an unpublished letter to Mr Cowen, Mr Daly is understood to have stated that the ICT staff would not move to Kildare and could not be replaced in sufficient numbers.
In a bid to keep decentralisation numbers on target, Mr Cowen has instead asked for 380 other Revenue staff who can be moved to the Kildare offices to be identified.
Besides meeting staff opposition, decentralisation was also opposed by Revenue management who want to ensure that the central computer and its back-up systems are kept within 28km of each other.
"The plan is that the Revenue central computers would be located in new national data centres, with one acting as the primary site and the second primarily for business continuity. We replicate changes to our data in near real time from the primary to business continuity site," a Revenue spokeswoman said last night.
However, Revenue insisted that it was "fully committed" to decentralisation, pointing out that it had had "a very successful experience" since it moved the Collector General's Office to Limerick 10 years ago.
Meanwhile, the Decentralisation Implementation Group progress report published yesterday reveals that so far 1,500 civil servants have moved to decentralised posts, although often they have moved from offices in the provinces rather than moving from Dublin.
More than 2,000 jobs will have been filled by the end of the year.
Just half of the applications to fill the 10,600 posts to be moved out of Dublin under the plan first announced by then minister for finance Charlie McCreevy have come from Dublin-based civil and public servants.
In a progress report submitted to Mr Cowen in July, the implementation group said: "It may be necessary to phase the move over a longer period than previously indicated. This would ensure that business continuity and staffing issues arising are addressed, including the allowance of adequate time to place staff who wish to remain in Dublin in appropriate vacancies."