Civil servants want to head home

Civil servants are applying to move to Derry

Nearly 1,000 civil servants want to move from Belfast to Londonderry, Foyle MP Mark Durkan has said.

About 823 staff have applied for transfers because they are "fed up" commuting or staying away from home during the week.

Mr Durkan said this is proof of the need for decentralisation of services.

He said with modern technology it was no longer necessary for employees to have to be physically on site to do their jobs.

"It's not the case that all civil service work requires people to be physically in the same place at the same time," he said.

"It's a matter of using the technology and the communication systems to facilitate the work."

Professor George Bain heads the team that looks how civil service jobs are spread out across Northern Ireland and has his doubts about the move.

"It wouldn't be all that beneficial to Derry, let's say you were to transfer 900 jobs and they were all taken by the 900 that are commuting," he said.

"The economic benefit to Derry would be very, very small, you wouldn't get new people coming in or extra spending power, you might just get a few more sandwich shops."