Mayo's Michael Davitt House, an exceptional decentralisation success story

50th anniversary to be marked in style next Monday at centre which currently employs over 525 staff

A commemoration stone will be unveiled at Davitt House, Castlebar, on Monday next, June 15, to mark the 50th anniversary of the government building.

The facility, built as part of the government's first major decentralisation programme, was officially opened on June 28, 1976.

The building is currently occupied by several departments including the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the Revenue Commissioners, Department of Education and Youth, Intreo and the Garda Information Services Centre, the latter being the anchor tenant.

Over 550 staff are currently employed there.

A representative from each section formed a committee to commemorate the golden jubilee of the building.

The unveiling of the commemorative stone in the inner courtyard will be performed by Minister of State Alan Dillon with the cathaoirleach of the Mayo County Council, Councillor Sean Carey, in attendance for a ceremony which starts at 12 noon and expected to last for around half an hour.

It is fitting that the naming of the building honours Michael Davitt, founding member of the Irish National Land league, who was born in Straide in 1846.

The Minister for Lands in 1967, Michael O’Morain, a Castlebar native, gave the green light for the development at Breaffy Road.

The building was officially opened on Monday, June 28, 1976, by the then Taoiseach, Liam Cosgrove, where some 100 civil servants were in situ as part of the initial wave to decentralise to the county town.

The Taoiseach was accompanied by Minister for Lands Tom Fitzpatrick, with the former Fianna Fáil government minister Michael O’Morain, who proposed the decentralisation nine years earlier, among the guests attending that day.

The original building consisted of two two-storey office blocks totalling 30,000 square feet.

When Davitt House was being constructed great care was taken not to disturb what was believed to be a fairy fort located at the back of the building and facing MacHale Park.

Over the intervening years, the landscape changed in respect of the government departments being housed in the building.

Initially it was mainly the Department of Lands. Now the Department of Agriculture and the Marine, with their Forestry and Wildlife and Land Commission divisions, as well as the Revenue Commissioners, which occupy the property.

The building was further developed in the mid-1990s, facilitating further office space.

The Department of Agriculture and the Marine, having opened further decentralised offices elsewhere, including in Cavan and Portlaoise, moved a large proportion of their functions from Castlebar to these areas in the mid 2000s.

This followed reforms to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the termination of certain schemes at that time which impacted some 100 staff.

Whilst initially viewed negatively for the staff in situ at that time, it provided an opportunity for the establishment of other functions in the building and saw the arrival of the Garda Information Services Centre (GISC) in 2005.

The Garda Information Services Centre is currently the building’s anchor tenant having the largest cohort of staff in the building.

A regional office of the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, covering veterinary, livestock and other scheme services, maintains a presence at Michael Davitt House.

The Revenue Commissioners, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), operated by Department of Education and Youth, and the local INTREO office, under the Department of Social Protection, are other current tenants.

The Garda Information Services Centre (GISC) is a contact centre for operational members of An Garda Síochána.

After an incident, gardaí contact the GISC on mobile devices instead of returning to their station to record the case details.

They give the details to trained civilian call-takers who enter the details on the PULSE system (An Garda Síochánas database).

The role of GISC is to support information led policing through the implementation of a data ecosystem where it supports the collection of raw data.

GISC plays a critical role in ensuring that the data collected from Garda members is of a high quality.

GISC objectives are to increase garda visibility, reduce garda administrative workload and improve the data quality on PULSE.

The centre has a cohort of 325 staff.

GISC operates on a 24/7 across 365 days basis and regularly runs recruitment competitions advertised in local and social media.

The Department of Social Protection has its Intreo centre for Castlebar located at Davitt House.

Intreo is the Irish Public Employment Service and the single point of contact for all employment and income supports, providing this service both in-person and online.

Designed for a streamlined approach, Intreo offers practical, tailored employment services and supports for both jobseekers and employers.

There are 51 staff currently attached to the Intreo office in Castlebar.

The Revenue Commissioners is the national authority for the administration and collection of taxes and duties, the implementation of customs controls and the execution of state fiscal policies.

From 30 staff in 1975 who dealt with income tax, the employers and directors division, VAT and the Construction Industry Division, the Revenue Commissioners now has over 140 staff serving in Michael Davitt House, comprising of varying roles in PAYE compliance, self assessment compliance, Revenue online services, MyAccount, information technology and customs controls.

The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is an independent statutory body that operates under the Department of Education.

It is responsible for improving education services for individuals with special educational needs, coordinating resources, and supporting an inclusive school environment across Ireland.

Without the jobs and services provided at Davitt House, Castlebar, as well as Mayo in general, would not be as progressive as it is today.

A debit of gratitude, on its 50th birthday, is certainly more than merited.