Agriculture Minister Michelle O’Neill pictured with staff from Forest Service as she officially opens Forest Service’s new Headquarters in Enniskillen following the relocation from Belfast as part of the Minister’s wider decentralisation process
IT has been revealed 39 posts have been transferred to Fermanagh through the relocation of the Forest Service’s headquarters to Enniskillen.
The Agriculture Minister officially opened the new headquarters at Inishkeen House on Thursday and welcomed the boost she believes it will provide to the local rural economy.
Over 50 Forest Service posts will be located in Inishkeen House, Enniskillen, with the move part of the wider decentralisation of civil service jobs within the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. The minister confirmed that already there have been 39 additional posts brought to the county.
Speaking at the opening the Minister O’Neill said: “There are very clear benefits in moving Forest Service’s administrative and management functions from Belfast to an area where one third of all forests lie in the council area, including over 30 public forests.
“I am confident that, like the other relocation projects, it will mean local people in local jobs, better work life balance and a boost to the local rural economy. We know from a Civil Service staff survey that there is a strong appetite for posts outside Belfast and this relocation has already brought an additional 39 jobs to Enniskillen,” added Minister O’Neill.
However, the decentralisation of jobs to Fermanagh and relocation of the Forest Service was not without its difficulties as back in 2014 a survey of Forest Service staff at the former headquarters, Dundonald House, Belfast revealed only 20% of staff were willing to make the move to Fermanagh, while there was some debate over the exact number of positions which were to be relocated.
A spokesman for DARD confirmed: “Currently 48 staff are based in Inishkeen House, Enniskillen. Other staff regularly use the office but also spend time on field work or managing staff elsewhere.
“The 39 posts were previously based in DARD Headquarters (HQ) at Dundonald House, Belfast. The posts are now located in Enniskillen.
“Where a person could not relocate with an HQ post, that post is filled by Civil Service staff who expressed an interest in working in Enniskillen following a survey as part of the wider relocation process.”
To read more.. Subscribe to current edition
Receive quality journalism wherever you are, on any device. Keep up to date from the comfort of your own home with a digital subscription.
Any time | Any place | Anywhere