Decentralisation

The_Conductor

Here are a few figures for you Sleepy-

The current scheme, as proposed, and as underway, is conservatively priced at a net cost to the exchequer of 1.3 billion Euro to 2009, and is not poised to break even until 2027. Those are conservative figures attributed to building costs alone by the OPW. Obviously they do not include infrastructural costs or human costs- costs that no-one is even trying to calculate.

S.

cdebru

NewDubliner wrote:

Until new people start work in the vacated city-centre offices......

.

thats true it wont solve the traffic problem it might hold off complete meltdown for a year or two

The_Conductor

Errrr.....
Not exactly......
Most civil servants don't drive to work btw
An interesting exercise would be to count the number of parking spaces assigned to civil servants whose posts are due to be decentralised. I think you would be quite surprised at how low a number it is in actual fact. The civil service is about the only area where there is moderately effective use of car pooling along with public transport.
E.g. Headquarters of the Department of Social and Family Affairs (Aras Mhic Dhiarmada) is attached to Busarus on the North side and has "no" parking spaces whatsoever. Headquarters of the Department of Agriculture on Kildare Street has parking spaces for fewer than 1 in 5 of the people who work in the building etc.......

cdebru

I accept what you say it would probably make little difference

except maybe to free up some bus or dart space perhaps

NewDubliner

cdebru wrote:

I accept what you say it would probably make little difference

except maybe to free up some bus or dart space perhaps

No, the traffic will probably get worse......

Some, for example, the IT staff, will not be able to find positions suitable to their experience & qualifications within the CS/PS in Dublin.

They'll have to start driving to new locations.

uncivilservant

smccarrick wrote:

You know the HEO SA position which came up in the Department of the Taoiseach, I've heard there is the highest ever number of applicants for the position- and it doesn't close until Tuesday. Almost 400 applicants for a single position- must be a record?

Let us not forget that the Dept. Taoiseach are not decentralising - nabbing this post is one of the few ways an existing IT staffer can ensure security of their chosen career path without being forced to relocate.

[OT]How unfortunate therefore that the (exceedingly specific) job specification bears all the hallmarks of having been written to 'fit' someone.... or am I just being exceedingly suspicious?[/OT]

NewDubliner

uncivilservant wrote:

.... or am I just being exceedingly suspicious?[/OT]

It wouldn't be the first time, but there's also the possibility that this is a good way for the government to get a large section of IT staff to voluntarily submit their CVs for scrutiny. Just think how useful this information would be for other purposes.....

The_Conductor

Suspicious or otherwise- I'm going for it, and I'm not in IT at the moment. They had better bloody call me to interview or else give me a very good reason as to why not- I actually managed to meet their requirements.

It was curious that there was no evaluation request attached to the application, as would be normal though? (According to Personnel in here.......)

Why they wanted the exact grade of every exam you took to degree level? The mind boggles.

NewDubliner

The Indo pol-corr re-hashes a government press-release no questions asked. Well, it is a bank holiday.

€900m decentralisation juggernaut starts rolling (Irish Independent 28 March)

THE Government's €900m decentralisation juggernaut gets rolling tomorrow when building begins at the first location where civil servants will be relocated from Dublin.

Over the coming months, up to 15 more exact locations will be identified in towns across the country as property deals are completed and construction work will then begin on the offices for the "early movers".

Junior Finance Minister Tom Parlon and Social Welfare Minister Seamus Brennan will be in Sligo tomorrow to turn the sod on a €14m office block. The building will house 100 Department of Social Welfare staff moving from Dublin, plus another 70 workers already based in rented offices.

The project will take 18 months, meaning the first decentralised civil servants will be in place before the end of 2006. The rollout of the first phase of moves will be a significant boost to the under-fire programme.

The decentralisation war-chest has been boosted by the OPW's sales of unused State properties worth €90m and another €100m expected this year from similar sell-offs of under-utilised assets.

On top of that, the Government has already allocated €90m of direct exchequer funding for the controversial programme which was announced in December 2003. The relocation of more than 10,000 public sector workers from Dublin to 52 locations across the country will cost €900m. Already, nearly 9,500 applications have been received from staff for decentralisation.

Sligo is actually the easiest of the projects to start as it involves building an extension to the existing Government offices where 430 Department of Social Welfare staff are already based, so a new site purchase is not necessary.

OPW minister Tom Parlon said last night that Sligo is a sign of what is coming down the tracks.

"We have either concluded or are about to conclude a substantial number of the property deals. Some of them are working out quite well and others are more difficult. No property transaction is straight forward," he said.

In the next couple of months, the Government plans to announce 15 specific locations where 21 departments and state agencies will be based in the first tranche of moves.

Announcements are believed to be imminent in Newbridge and Killarney, where sites are being bought from local authorities, along with Portlaoise, Drogheda and Tullamore.

Deals are also understood to be nearing completion in Mullingar, Birr, Portarlington and Carlow, where a local authority site is also being secured.

The first phase of moves by departments and state agencies set out by the Government also involves Clonakilty, Kilrush, Listowel, Newcastlewest, Limerick, Loughrea and Trim, while planning permission has already been granted in Longford.

The identification of the actual sites and the start of building work is also expected to result in an increase in the numbers of public sector workers applying for relocation.

Locations where there are large numbers of jobs involved, such as Portlaoise, Mullingar and Drogheda, will be developed on a public-private-partnership basis.

The buoyancy in the property market means sites are costing €1.5m per acre in regional towns but the OPW was quoted a price of €4m per acre in one case.

The rule-of-thumb estimated cost of relocating 100 civil servants is put at €10m, once the cost of the site, building the offices and fitting it out are included.

The_Conductor

Ok, so absolutely nothing new- in fact there is more information in the public domain than is listed here. Nice to see no mention of the 2027 break-even date..... Curious to see whether the "facts" are in actual fact correct- e.g.

The relocation of more than 10,000 public sector workers from Dublin to 52 locations across the country will cost €900m. Already, nearly 9,500 applications have been received from staff for decentralisation.

and

The building will house 100 Department of Social Welfare staff moving from Dublin


Cost is already accepted to be a conservative estimate, at best.
The 9,500 applications received from staff for decentralisation includes how many applications from civil servants in Dublin?
Also- are the 100 DSFA staff actually DSFA staff moving from Dublin, as stated, and not DSFA staff from elsewhere- or staff from other Departments?

As Lewis Carroll put it- "Curiouser, and curiouser", said Alice to the cat.

NewDubliner

smccarrick wrote:

Ok, so absolutely nothing new- in fact there is more information in the public domain than is listed here. Nice to see no mention of the 2027 break-even date..... Curious to see whether the "facts" are in actual fact correct- e.g.

There's a combination of 'spin' and 'putting out the trash', here, and where did this come from?

The rule-of-thumb estimated cost of relocating 100 civil servants is put at €10m, once the cost of the site, building the offices and fitting it out are included.

This puts the total cost of the scheme at 1bn. After the buildings, that leaves 100m for other costs. Suggesting that the IT, productivity loss and retraining costs will be just €9,800 per staff. That's very low.

It's nice to see that the Indo has such respect for the government that it was not so rude as to ask awkward questions.

Victor

NewDubliner wrote:

It wouldn't be the first time, but there's also the possibility that this is a good way for the government to get a large section of IT staff to voluntarily submit their CVs for scrutiny. Just think how useful this information would be for other purposes.....

Please do explain.

The rule-of-thumb estimated cost of relocating 100 civil servants is put at €10m, once the cost of the site, building the offices and fitting it out are included.

Thats really expensive.

Rule of thumb is 10m2 per person at even €3,000/m2 to build leaves a huge gap. OK, you have to add IT, but I suspect IT is coming out of the IT budget not the Decentralisation budget.

uncivilservant

Victor wrote:

Please do explain.

There is massive suspicion within the Civil Service that Decentralisation will be used as a way to 'dispose' of in house IT - outsourcing is seen as something of a holy grail by senior management, and the floating of the job in question (and it's rather onerous application form) is perceived by some as an opportunity to gather information on a huge number of the IT staff and the jobs they do who wish to remain in Dublin in one fell swoop (the post in question will not be Decentralising).

Thats really expensive.

Rule of thumb is 10m2 per person at even €3,000/m2 to build leaves a huge gap. OK, you have to add IT, but I suspect IT is coming out of the IT budget not the Decentralisation budget.

I have a feeling your 10m2 guide figure is a little lower than the norms adopted for Civil Service accommodation, but regardless of that you're only considering the actual build costs and not the knock on effects.

Furthermore there is no "IT budget". Unless you're considering each relocating department's existing IT budget, in which case you might as well say the money is coming from thin air, as to the best of my knowledge no IT budgets have been increased in any meaningful way to deal with the implications of the decentralisation program.

RicardoSmith

Personally while I can see short term financial gains and cost cutting, to be made by outsourcing IT. I don't see that it works. The systems generally take longer to develop, have less features and cost a lot more. Support is a constant headache as you don't have a bank of experience of custom applications or the business knowledge. Because loose the experience from the internal staff, contractors change too often, and its too expensive to employ the same number of support people. Ulitmate these contracts go to the lowest bidder which will mean that eventually the agency or main contractor will outsource from outside of Ireland for staff. Which means theres less work for Irish IT people, and you'll run the risk of situations like you had on Irish Ferries.

uncivilservant

smccarrick wrote:

Also- are the 100 DSFA staff actually DSFA staff moving from Dublin, as stated, and not DSFA staff from elsewhere- or staff from other Departments?

From the RTE News website:

Mr Brennan was speaking in Sligo where contracts were signed for a building which is to be part of the first phase of the Government's current decentralisation programme.

It is an extension to the offices of the Department of Social and Family Affairs in Sligo.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Tom Parlon, said the project would take 18 months to complete.

The extension will house 83 staff decentralising from Dublin and will also facilitate another 68 staff currently based in the Waterfront building in Sligo. When complete it will accommodate a total of 605.

So is it 100 from Dublin & 70 from "other offices", or is it 83 from Dublin & 68 from other offices?

Of course, we're still none the wiser if those are 83 staff or 83 posts that are moving....

NewDubliner

More government propaganda, courtesy of the 'Irish Independent':

THE Government's programme for decentralisation is very much on track with an announcement on a number of new locations expected shortly, the Minister of State in charge of public works, Tom Parlon has revealed.

From then on, announcements will be made on an almost weekly basis, as new property solutions and arrangements for advancing the development and design of the buildings emerge and the programme is rolled out, the minister said.

"We are just about ready to move off. It is just a matter of putting up the signs on land announcing what department is going there and we are on the way," he said. Minister Parlon was in Sligo town with Social Affairs Minister, Seamus Brennan yesterday to turn the first sod for a €14m extension to the existing Department of Social Affair's north west headquarters.

The five-storey building, which is scheduled for completion in October 2006, will house 605 staff working in the pension services section of the Department of Social Affairs.

Speaking at the event, Mr Brennan said: "I believe that those who do make the move see the very real advantages in terms of property prices and general quality of life very quickly."

My favourite quote is: "It is just a matter of putting up the signs on land announcing what department is going there and we are on the way."

On the way indeed, but where.............?

D'Peoples Voice

thegills wrote:

Decentralisation is dead and buried along with Mary Harney and the rest of the PD party.

If Mary Harney and every other right minded person had their way, the public sector would be reduced greatly not just moved.
For how many years have we heard the public sector and their unions plead for more money for staff working in Dublin as opposed to those outside, why, because the cost of living is higher here we are told.
Now when the government are going to help them move and guarantee their job in the process, they're still not happy.
Remember we are only moving 10,000 from a number of circa 309,000. No wonder it was oversubscribed!

IMHO the public sector is a parasite, eating off the wealth created by the private sector. you only have to look at what happens when public sector companies are privatised, the first thing they do is reduce staff, why because they are overstaffed. Look at Irish Life, B+I ferries & Grreencore to see why the PD's were spot on to privatise them. They lost staff and are all now very much going concerns, contributing to the country, not taking from it.
Think what could happen if we could privatise the running of our hospitals and schools. Efficency, just compare Blackrock hospital with the Mater. :mad:

ishmael whale

D'Peoples Voice wrote:

....Remember we are only moving 10,000 from a number of circa 309,000. No wonder it was oversubscribed!....

I take it this is a troll. Everyone knows that the scheme is undersubscribed, apart from the locations closest to Dublin.

uncivilservant

The five-storey building, which is scheduled for completion in October 2006, will house 605 staff working in the pension services section of the Department of Social Affairs.

What this rehashed press release - sorry, I mean "article" - on the (ahem) runaway success of the Decentralisation programme fails to mention is that of those 605 staff, only 83 are classified as being "decentralising" staff (as per RTE News report yesterday.)

Over 500 of them already work in Sligo.

The latest available figures from the Department of Finance lists 84 posts for decentralisation to Sligo from Dept. Social & Family Affairs. As of November 2004, there was a shortfall of 37 people / "expressions of interest" to fill these posts, with the 16 available CO posts being oversubscribed by 13. (Ref: Appendix 1 of this document - http://www.pseu.ie/docs/Decent24.doc). Not to worry.... I'm sure Seamus will find some way of getting the other 37 bums on seats.

Which reminds me... As with the rest of the programme, no indication has been given of where the 47 "expressions of interest" are coming from. Existing Dublin based DSFA staff? Existing non-Dublin based DSFA staff? Non-DSFA Dublin staff? Non-DSFA, non-Dublin staff? Who knows!

NewDubliner

uncivilservant wrote:

What this rehashed press release - sorry, I mean "article" - on the (ahem) runaway success of the Decentralisation programme fails to mention

I think the Indo was on auto-pilot when this came out, it was the Easter hols after all.

So far, the Irish Times & The Examiner (I think) have completely ignored Mr Parlon's latest revelations. Their BS filters must come from a different manufacturer.

DublinWriter

D'Peoples Voice wrote:

Think what could happen if we could privatise the running of our hospitals and schools. Efficency, just compare Blackrock hospital with the Mater. :mad:

Careful now. Down with that sort of thing.

True enough, and just like what happened in the states they've got Pepsi-Cola Corp. and Coca-Cola Corp. banging on the doors of schools to offer-them shed-loads of money in return for the school exclusively selling their products. Ironically, many high-schools in the mid-west have had either company build them new gyms on such agreements.

I've been to Blackrock a few years ago for a few routine oral X-Rays. The X-Ray department was chaotic, queues of people lining the walls waiting their turn. It was my first time in there and I was quite shocked as I expected at least a complimentary glass of Champagne and a sit-down in a leather recliner as I waited the 2 hours or so for my turn for a quick X-Ray.

For heathcare, I'd look at the French/Belgium/German model rather than the US one. Same with education.

Everything else? Sell it off, and I'd include RTE in that (only 20% of their revenue comes from the licence fee after all!).

cdebru

DublinWriter wrote:

Careful now. Down with that sort of thing.

True enough, and just like what happened in the states they've got Pepsi-Cola Corp. and Coca-Cola Corp. banging on the doors of schools to offer-them shed-loads of money in return for the school exclusively selling their products. Ironically, many high-schools in the mid-west have had either company build them new gyms on such agreements.

I've been to Blackrock a few years ago for a few routine oral X-Rays. The X-Ray department was chaotic, queues of people lining the walls waiting their turn. It was my first time in there and I was quite shocked as I expected at least a complimentary glass of Champagne and a sit-down in a leather recliner as I waited the 2 hours or so for my turn for a quick X-Ray.

For heathcare, I'd look at the French/Belgium/German model rather than the US one. Same with education.

Everything else? Sell it off, and I'd include RTE in that (only 20% of their revenue comes from the licence fee after all!).

yes selling off our telecommunications infrastructre has been such a rip roaring success no reason to believe the electricity wont be as oustanding a success story

we need too hand over to foreign multinational companies what little control we have in our economy over our infrastructure

NewDubliner

From today's Indo

THE decentralisation programme will cost the taxpayer almost €260,000 for every civil servant who relocates out of Dublin.

Junior minister Tom Parlon revealed yesterday that €900m had been earmarked for decentralisation to pay for 3,492 jobs being moved from Dublin at a cost of €257,731 each.

And some government departments are insisting that mid-ranking civil servants be given their own private offices when they move, he told a Dail Select Committee on Finance and the Public Service.

Despite the Office of Public Works, and most private companies, believing open-plan offices are conducive to a "more productive work environment" some departments were insisting officials at assistant principal level or above be allocated individual offices.

Mr Parlon, Minister for State at the Office of Public Works, told the committee the OPW would spend €70m on the decentralisation programme this year.

A total of €30m had been ringfenced for the purchase of sites, with the balance to be spent on fitting out offices, he said.

Fifteen government departments and agencies are due to move in the first phase of decentralisation, which involves 21 projects in 20 locations and the transfer of eight headquarters outside of Dublin.

Eight buildings should be fully fitted out and ready for occupation in 2006, nine more in 2007 and the remaining four in 2008. The cost of procuring the office space was €900m, and 3,492 jobs would be moved.

Mr Parlon also said properties had been secured in Carlow, Longford, Newcastle West, Athlone, the Curragh, Sligo, Dundalk, Donegal and at Furbo in Co Galway. Although more expensive, the OPW believed design and build contracts would be secured from developers to allow projects to be advanced at a faster pace.

Up to 40pc of the required office space would be leased, he said.

The OPW will also spend €19.5m upgrading and enhancing office accommodation for government departments this year.

The OPW's budget for 2005 is €469.3m - an 8pc increase on last year. Some €18m will be spent on providing additional accommodation for Garda trainees at Templemore Garda College.

Looks like Mr Parlon is preparing to shift the blame for the massive cost of the scheme onto the staff.

That figure of €257,731 is only for bricks & mortar. It is not the full cost as it does not include IT or telecomms, the huge costs of retraining, the cost of hiring outside contractors to cover for lost experts, nor general productivity losses as a result of the moves.

The Indo's editorial finally stirs to ask some questions, but is hardly bothering to look deeply at the plans. Note too, that Parlon appears to be 'hung out to dry' as the only Government proponent of the scheme:

THE increase in Government spending over last year, forecast at 8pc, is in fact running at 11pc. Not yet a storm signal, but certainly a warning signal, worth noting along with Brian Cowen's cautious words to the Oireachtas Committee on Finance and the Public Service yesterday.
....

Sound stuff. A pity it squares so poorly with information supplied to the same committee by a junior minister in the same Government - Tom Parlon, Minister of State at the Office of Public Works.

Mr Parlon told the members that €900m had been earmarked for the decentralisation programme, under which 3,492 jobs would be moved from Dublin to other locations at a cost of €257,731 each.

A quarter of a million per transferred official: is this good value? More expensive contracts to enable offices to be built faster: where's the hurry? There seems to be a bit of a disjuncture between the Department of Finance and the people who sign cheques on behalf of the taxpayers. Maybe Mr Cowen can mend it.

gerrydublin

ishmael whale wrote:

I take it this is a troll. Everyone knows that the scheme is undersubscribed, apart from the locations closest to Dublin.

"apart from the locations closest to Dublin" which don't count, is that what you are saying?

The_Conductor

D'Peoples Voice wrote:

Remember we are only moving 10,000 from a number of circa 309,000. No wonder it was oversubscribed!

Really?
Last time I checked there was a total of about 37,400 civil servants in the country- of whom in excess of 21,000 are already decentralised. In addition, of the ultimate proposed figure of 11,500 (of the 16,000 positions) in the Dublin region- for further decentralisation, only shy of 3,500 of the positions have been applied for- and of those we still don't know how many are people who have not yet been decentralised (aka a relocation as opposed to a decentralisation). The only locations oversubscribed to the best of my knowledge are: Drogheda, Naas and Newbridge and even then only at entry level clerical grades........

D'Peoples Voice wrote:

IMHO the public sector is a parasite, eating off the wealth created by the private sector. you only have to look at what happens when public sector companies are privatised, the first thing they do is reduce staff, why because they are overstaffed. Look at Irish Life, B+I ferries & Grreencore to see why the PD's were spot on to privatise them. They lost staff and are all now very much going concerns, contributing to the country, not taking from it.

A discipline of Adam Smith I see......

Essentially you are suggesting that unless someone produces a tangible good, they are parasites feeding off the toil of those who work in manufacturing industries?
Amazing how the service industry is growing, isn't it?
Governing the country- is, whether you like it or not, one of the "services" necessary in this country. Politicians may decide policy- civil servants implement it.

Your suggestions that a mad rush to privatise is "spot on" as you put it- is an extremely blinkered view at best. I note how you have mysteriously forgotten to mention some of the less successful privatisations- one which immediately comes to mind being Eircom...... Only quoting examples which suit your argument does not provide an impartial analysis of the situation......

D'Peoples Voice wrote:

Think what could happen if we could privatise the running of our hospitals and schools. Efficency, just compare Blackrock hospital with the Mater. :mad:

Yes, have a think about it.......
Much increased class sizes in our schools. Cherry picking of pupils with higher aptitudes by "elite" schools- leaving some schools branded as failures- because of their inability to compete with their monied colleagues. Look at the US and the UK.

As for the health services- you obviously have not bothered to even look at whats happening there? In the US- basic healthcare insurance for a 30yo male with no medical conditions and no prior hospitalisations starts at about 14,000 per annum. And don't even suggest relying on Medicare- lol, you wouldn't last for very long......

As for Blackrock versus the Mater.......Have had the misfortune to have to visit both for tests lately. While the Mater may have had a more "conveyor belt" approach, they were quicker at giving me an appointment- and getting back with results- the opposite of what you are suggesting......

The_Conductor

gerrydublin wrote:

"apart from the locations closest to Dublin" which don't count, is that what you are saying?

What he is suggesting is a lot of people are "volunteering" to "decentralise" to locations close at hand- as the implications of not-decentralising (lack of career prospects, lack of meaningful work, uprooting of family and other commitments etc) are incalculable, particularly as civil servants have to rely on leaks in the press for information.
I.e. people do not want to or intend to move homes- but are sticking themselves down for locations within a commutable distance....... by my book that doesn't really count- what do you think?

ishmael whale

gerrydublin wrote:

"apart from the locations closest to Dublin" which don't count, is that what you are saying?

Indeed. What I’m suggesting is that people opting for Trim, Newbridge and Drogheda (which are the only three locations really pulling in the numbers) are essentially only moving from one place of work to another within the greater Dublin area. While I cannot substantiate this with any information, I would speculate that the people opting for these locations are people seeking a shorter commute e.g. people currently commuting from Drogheda and from North County Dublin might find the idea of commuting to Drogheda attractive when compared to commuting into town. That’s fine so far as it goes, but its hardly evidence of an enormous demand among civil servants to leave the capital.

To refresh memories, when that headline figure of 9,500 is bandied around it contains two inaccuracies. Firstly, it includes people already decentralised seeking to move to another decentralised location e.g. moving from Castlebar to Claremorris. Secondly, such Dublin based staff as have applied tend to apply for the locations closest to Dublin. The further you go from Dublin, the fewer staff you get.

All this basically means is that the programme is a farce at all levels. It’s good to see the Indo picking up the question of cost. Why is this a national priority? Why are we spending so much on this farce when we’ve the second highest primary class sizes in Europe, when the health service still underperforms and has a hefty bill to pay from past mistakes etc etc ?

uncivilservant

And some government departments are insisting that mid-ranking civil servants be given their own private offices when they move, he told a Dail Select Committee on Finance and the Public Service.

Despite the Office of Public Works, and most private companies, believing open-plan offices are conducive to a "more productive work environment" some departments were insisting officials at assistant principal level or above be allocated individual offices.

Shock! Horror! For shame! The cheek! Oh wait a minute... Wouldn't these be the same 'mid-ranking' (hasn't that description been used for all civil servants from EO to PO at some stage?)Assistand Principal Officers currently residing in individual offices in their existing accommodation? They're hardly demanding anything new.

However, I wish Tom the best of luck in encouraging them (and the AHCPS / IMPACT) out into the open.

MorningStar

To_be_confirmed wrote:

S**t, that dude's a nutcase! I was thinking along the lines of choosing the best location be it a city or smaller town and developing it to such an extent that it would rival Dublin

Decentralisation needs to happen if we are to check the excessive growth of dublin. Ireland would be a better place to live in, in every way, if we can stop this unbalance in the country

Decentralisation is no the only method to deal with the problem of "excessive" growth in Dublin. It's a possible option. The method of execution is obvously flawed as it hasn't been taken up. I don't particularly like unions but they needed to be consulted on an action like this. To announce it as part of the budget is also very suspect. The decision was also sold as a way to get local votes with in the party too. Do you really want the unbalance addressed? It means Dublin problems down the country. Decentralisation will by no means address the problem that is so historical.
Civil servants aren't interchangeable like the government think. Who would want to go from an area of interest to one of no interest? Let alone skill sets. The whole extended family situation is also considerable. Are people meant to leave elderly family memeber in Dublin and move down to the country? THe governemnet seem to think keeping prisoners central to family is more important than keeping loyal employees close to their family.
I'm coming in late so I guess many points have already been made.

NewDubliner

Quote:
...Despite the Office of Public Works, and most private companies, believing open-plan offices are conducive to a "more productive work environment" some departments were insisting officials at assistant principal level or above be allocated individual offices.

You have to admire the 'cute hoor' in Parlon. He's trying to get people to believe that the huge cost of the scheme is the fault of staff wanting their own offices. That's a far cry from the 'superb accomodation' with 'car parking' he was promising when he first declared 'Parlon Country' open for business.

The natural riposte is that offices are not milking parlors.....