Chamber President Clive Brownlee says that there must be a strategic plan for Dublin’s growth to accompany the Government decentralisation programme.

The following is the full text of an article published in the Sunday Times on 14 December 2003:

When an organisation such as the Dublin Chamber of Commerce expresses concern about jobs being moved away from Dublin, the reaction will almost certainly be “it would, wouldn’t it!”. But for businesses based in Dublin, relocation of operations to other parts of Ireland and to other countries is a regular part of the organisation process. And Ireland has benefited enormously from the decisions of multi-nationals to locate back office, manufacturing and other non-headquarter activities in this country. Dublin in particular has developed as a major “home from home” for leading world players in new economy industries such as ICT, financial services and pharmaceuticals, and has become the engine of Ireland’s economic resurgence. Decentralisation and relocation can have very positive benefits when carried out effectively.

This raises a number of key questions in relation to the recently announced public service decentralisation programme:
§ Will decentralisation add or detract to Dublin’s position as a lead business centre?
§ Will it lead to more efficient government and public administration ?
§ Can the programme be delivered within a reasonable cost and time frame without major disruption. ?

In the first instance, business in Dublin will take a hit. The consumer sector, from retailers to restaurants, will feel the absence of 10,000 people and their dependents. Service industries will also lose contracts in support activities such as canteen management, office maintenance and many others. The property market, particularly the commercial and residential letting sectors, will also feel a chill wind.  In total, this is a loss to Dublin equivalent to the economic power of a town the size of Galway.

The upside scenario, we are told, goes something like this – by removing the equivalent of 40,000 people from Dublin, traffic congestion is reduced, more housing becomes available and prices become more affordable. This makes the city more attractive to overseas companies, who in turn decide to locate more high value added jobs here, and everybody wins. A fine scenario indeed – except that there is no accompanying strategy from Government to deliver it. As a national priority, there needs to be a plan to strengthen and grow Ireland’s prime asset. The creation of a Forum for Dublin – driven by a vision – should be the first step in that process.

The other fundamental issue is the degree to which decentralisation will add to or improve the functioning of government and administration. Towns such as Cavan and Shannon already have well functioning administrative offices and there is scope for more. It as at the policy making level that the key issues arise. Intuitively, it makes sense that this should take place in one location, where there is opportunity for senior public servants to interact and develop ideas and policies – both with each other, with cabinet members and politicians and with key influencers in the private sector. There are at present more than a hundred inter-departmental committees of one shape or from in existence in Dublin. How can this interactive policy making function develop if the people involved are scattered around numerous locations ?

There is also the issue as to who determines policy, and aficionados of “Yes Minister” will be aware of how that process flows between Ministers and their senior civil servants. It will be a moot point indeed to see how that interaction works between a Minister located in Dublin and a Department located a hundred miles or more away. Dublin is the seat of Government, and that is where the manifestation of joined-up government should be.

Can the programme be delivered without major disruption? If it is to work, it will need substantial investment in infrastructure, particularly in transport and communications. There are significant question marks as to whether that is achievable.  If a large business were to locate a third of its staff to 53 different locations, even with the availability of redundancy or relocation expenses, it would be a massive organisational project, and consume an extraordinary amount of management resources. There would have to be a very sound business plan behind such a move. We need to see that plan from Government.

Clive Brownlee, President, Dublin Chamber of Commerce