He has agreed that he will not recruit staff to the Trim office until all the engineers and architects who do not want to leave Dublin have been absorbed into other civil-service posts. As this could take years, the whole decentralisation programe in the OPW could be put on ice, with a largely vacant, though brand new, HQ in Trim echoing to the sound of ISDN lines humming, awaiting input from staff ensconced at home in Dublin.

Parlon's main problem is that there are simply not enough vacancies in Dublin to absorb the 100 OPW professional staff who want to remain in the capital. Under Parlon's promise, therefore, he will not be able to staff the decentralised OPW headquarters in Trim with professional workers. This puts the whole move in serious doubt.

Though Parlon told Impact that his commitment applies to the OPW move to Trim only, the union, which represents all professional staff in the public service, is now pushing for the same commitment in other departments with specialist staff . . . such as the prison service, environment, valuation office . . . which are due to move shortly.