ONLY 79 members from a staff of 130 who were due to decentralise to a new purpose built headquarters for the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism in Killarney have relocated there.

The building, which opened last December in the constituency of former minister at the department and current Ceann Comhairle John O'Donoghue TD, has cost a total of €19.5m to build to date.

A department spokesman said the building, which it is estimated will cost some €195,000 to run this year, has some "spare capacity" and that it is looking at sharing this space with other departments.

He said it can accommodate up to 130 people, which is the "core staffing number of the department".

But just 79 members of staff, including two service officers recruited locally, have so far relocated there.

Martin Cullen, the current Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, recently told the Dáil the department had been designated as an "early mover" under the government's 2004 decentralisation programme and noted that the new offices had opened in Killarney last December.

However, decentralisation has since been stalled, after the government moved to delay further spending on offices needed to move civil servants out of Dublin.

The 1.2 acre site of the new building was purchased at a cost of €4.5 million in 2005, and cost just under €15 million to construct, according to the OPW.

Asked when the Department expects the decentralisation process to be completed, the spokesman said it was "not possible to put a final date on the completion of the decentralisation process."

He added that the department expects there will be an "overall saving" of more than €50,000 from running offices in Dublin and Killarney.