However, in a telling symbol of Parlon's decentralisation difficulties, only 13 people were actually working at the stateof-the-art offices when they were officially opened. Three of those were Fas director Rody Molloy and two assistants who will keep their offices in Dublin and travel to Birr only as required. Most of the remaining workers on site moved from other provincial Fas offices in Limerick, Nenagh and Edenderry, with no more than two or three coming from HQ in Dublin.

Fas staff have worked feverishly in recent weeks to kit out the temporary offices with snazzy equipment, including flat-screen TVs, which will cost the state agency over 1m.

Fas has leased one floor of an office block in Birr from Shannon Development as a temporary measure to house an advance party of around 50 decentralising staff while it seeks a permanent site for its new head office.

Overall, the government's decentralisation plan, overseen by Parlon, has fallen well short of targets, with just over 500 public servants at desks outside Dublin by the end of 2006. Former finance minister Charlie McCreevy said in 2003 that all 10,000 would be moved by the end of 2006.

The Fas move to Birr has been plagued by planning problems and industrial relations difficulties, with only six of its 400 HQ staff signed up to make the move . . . one of the lowest take-ups in the entire public sector.