SDLP Foyle MLA Mark H Durkan
As Environment Minister, Mr Durkan secured the DOE regional hub at the Ebrington site as part of the Historic Environment Division (HED.)
The office currently accommodates staff employed by several departments including Communities and Infrastructure.
Said the Foyle MLA: “During my time as Environment Minister I made a commitment to relocate more government jobs from Belfast to Derry.
“I followed through on those promises and was proud to secure 30 civil service jobs at the Ebrington site in 2014.
“It’s disappointing that more ministers from other parties have not followed suit in bringing jobs to Derry but I have written to existing caretaker ministers seeking assurances that these government jobs will be retained in the city.
“On a positive note, the potential sale of the building in Ebrington signifies the belated successful regeneration of the site and some realisation, albeit overdue, of its commercial potential.
“I’d like to think that the opening of a ministerial hub on the site, bringing with it the site’s first permanent jobs, played some part in its development.
“There is of course symbolic relevance in having a ministerial office here and it’s disillusioning that it will soon be gone.
“The presence of this office was an embodiment of a promise, one to address decades of neglect and regional imbalance in the North West.
“The process of decentralisation of civil service jobs cannot be hindered- it can be done and more effort must be made by current ministers to ensure that centralisation of government jobs in Belfast is not policy but history.
“The political will must be there to make this happen. I remain cautiously hopeful that crucial NICS jobs will remain in Derry.
“I am determined not only that these jobs remain in Derry but that more jobs are brought to Derry,” added Mr Durkan.
