Published: Wednesday, 9th December, 2009 5:31pm

Decentralisation under scrutiny as Budget looms

The future of the proposed Department of Education and Science move to Mullingar is up in the air, after the Department of Finance confirmed last week that a number of outstanding decentralisation projects are now under review.

The Lynn Road development - part of a public/private partnership bundle including decentralisation projects in Portlaoise and Carlow - was due to be delivered by the end of 2010, but the completion of the project is now expected to be delayed substantially.

But with today's (Wednesday's) impending Budget, Westmeath TD Willie Penrose fears that the Department of Education may never arrive in Mullingar.

"I would have the deepest concerns about it," Deputy Penrose told the Westmeath Examiner. "The money is there, the site has been bought, and planning permission has been obtained.

"I thought there was a lot of long-fingering going on, but I would be extremely shocked if the Budget were to suspend it indefinitely.

"It would be foolhardy economics, something which this Government seems to have a bottomless pit of."

The Department of Finance said last week that decentralisation projects given priority in the 2009 Budget will now come under review, giving the strongest indication yet that more outstanding projects will join the 48 halted indefinitely by the Government following last year's budget.

Mullingar is one of nine towns with decentralisation plans due for review. So far, infrastructural works have been carried out at the Lynn Road site, but work has not started on the development of offices, and no staff have moved to the town - unlike Portlaoise and Carlow, where 300 and 100 Government staff respectively have already moved to rented accommodation.

However, informed sources have told the Westmeath Examiner that the Mullingar-Portlaoise-Carlow PPP project may be rescued as part of a Government stimulus package, which could be announced in this week's Budget, or as part of the Finance Bill in the New Year.

The aim of the package would be to create jobs, boost the flagging construction industry, and ensure that vital, outstanding Government projects are completed.

"€11 billion has been put into the banks," Deputy Penrose continued, when asked about the possible benefits of such a stimulus package. "All we were looking for was a €1.5 billion injection to help create jobs. I am nonplussed that it hasn't happened already.

"It's the ideal time to provide an objective stimulus, which would act as a fill-up for the local economy," the Ballynacargy man added.