Long-awaited proposals for decentralisation of State agencies and departments will be introduced by the Department of Finance before Christmas, according to the Taoiseach.
Mr Ahern told the Dáil the committee responsible for looking at the issue had completed its work and had made "preliminary recommendations" to the Minister for Finance.
On Tuesday, Mr McCreevy told the Dáil that some 120 applications had been received for decentralisation and warned that more people would be disappointed than happy.
The Fine Gael leader, Mr Enda Kenny, asked the Taoiseach yesterday when an announcement would be made and when would public servants be transferred.
Mr McCreevy has been criticised for the delay in making a decision on regional decentralisation, as he had promised to have a radical programme of decentralisation in place by the end of 2000. He warned, however, that he had to ensure "efficient and effective delivery of services" and there was no point in announcing a big department move for a town or village that did not have the infrastructure to support it.
