Speech by Minister Martin at the Official opening of the advance interim DETE office, Carlow

Thursday 6^th September 2007 at 1.30pm

I am very pleased to welcome you all here today to mark the relocation of 100 staff of my Department to Carlow as part of the Government’s Decentralisation Programme. Once the Decentralisation Programme for the Department is complete, we will have over 250 of my staff in permanent offices in Carlow, and the opening of the advance interim office today marks a significant milestone in meeting our commitment to this programme.

As you are all aware, in December 2003 the Government announced an ambitious programme of Decentralisation for the entire country. This programme will be rolled out in full over the coming years and I am particularly proud of the fact that my Department has been for the forefront in implementing our part of the programme.

We are here today to mark to opening of the advance office here on O’Brien Road, and to acknowledge what is a clear lifestyle choice by the staff here today who applied to transfer to Carlow. Carlow town is an important urban centre of economic activity and holds a strategic location in the South East, being a gateway to the region from Dublin and the Midlands. Carlow enjoys clean air and a beautiful countryside making for a great quality of life and has all the ingredients to ensure enjoyment and job satisfaction.

The opening of this building today represents the first concrete step in my Department delivering its commitment to the Decentralisation Programme and to the people of Carlow. It also represents a major step forward in the establishment of NERA, which the Government committed itself to in the Towards 2016 Agreement.

I know that staff will benefit from the very many advantages that Carlow and its surrounding areas have to offer. I am also confident that Carlow itself will benefit from this initial relocation of 100 staff and their families, which will contribute to the economic well being of the area. I want to wish all staff and their families every success and happiness in their future official and personal lives here in Carlow.

Many people have worked extremely hard over the past six months to make today possible. The success of this venture is due to the careful planning, attention to detail and the hard work of all involved. I would like to thank in particular the staff of the OPW in Dublin, Mr Ronan McKeever, Mr Conor Clarke, Mr Gerard Bourke and Mr Paul Plunkett and their teams who worked very hard to ensure that this building was delivered on time. I would also like to thank Mealey Construction and in particular Mr Pat Mealy, Mr Pat Bevan and Mr David Crowley for the construction of this high quality building with state of the art facilities that provides an excellent working environment for staff which will contribute to a work life balance that is so important in today’s business world. In addition I would like to thank Carlow County Council for their contribution to the success of this project.

I would also like to particularly acknowledge the important role played by the Secretary General of my Department, also Mr Ger Deering, Director of the National Employment Rights Authority, Mr Paul Farrell, Registrar of the Companies Registration Office and all staff, particularly those in the IT and Corporate Service Units, for all their dedication and hard work for the past few months which has enabled us to meet what was a very ambitious target date to deliver this building here today. I’m sure that you will all agree that all those who were involved in the construction and fitting out have done the Department and Public Service proud.

This is a significant day for the staff here from NERA and the CRO that have relocated to Carlow. I wish to reassure all remaining staff waiting to make the move to Carlow that my Department will continue to work diligently to bring to fruition, in late 2009, all going to plan, the final move to our permanent Carlow offices.

All that remains for me to do is to cut the ribbon, and declare the premises officially opened.

ENDS/ETE1779