asked the Minister for Finance if he made any announcement in the past three years that the Government are no longer in the market for new office accommodation; if so, the date on which it was made; whether it is the intention of his Department to rent new office accommodation; and, if so, from whom.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Government Office Accommodation.
14.
No announcement such as that mentioned in the opening part of the Deputy's question has been made by me. As indicated in reply to a supplementary question by Deputy Cooney on 23rd March, 1972, the question of the Government providing its own office space instead of continuing to rent is being examined very closely at present. Even if it is decided that a building programme should be undertaken by the Government the Deputy will appreciate that some time must elapse before new buildings could be completed, and that in the meantime it will be necessary to meet the essential needs of Government Departments by renting.
Can the Minister tell me why no announcement was made because on 20th November, 1969, the then Minister for Finance, Deputy Haughey, stated:
The Minister for Local Government and myself have been discussing the desirability of our making an announcement that the Government are no longer in the market for new office accommodation.
Is the Minister aware that since that they have rented office accommodation to the tune of over £600,000? Why was this announcement not made? Does the Minister not agree that they are a God-send to speculators who are building this type of accommodation? Does he not think that it would be a very good idea if the Office of Public Works, who have their own staff, were to borrow the money from Irish insurance companies and do the building themselves and become the owners, rather than pay over £1 million in rent, in many cases to foreigners?
If the Deputy had gone on to complete the quotation from the statement by the former Minister for Finance it would be clear that he said that they had decided not to make such an announcement because the next day they might have to meet an irresistible demand for office accommodation from some Department——
He did not.
——which would prove beyond doubt that they needed it.
He did not say that. I have the quotation before me.
Would the Deputy complete it?
He said there was always the danger that some particular Departments or Government agency might look for it but still he said they were contemplating making that announcement. They have not made it.
What he said, in fact, was that they would not make it.
No, he did not. He said they were contemplating making it.
15.
asked the Minister for Finance the number of instances where the Government learned through the Office of Public Works that a building was to be built and where they entered into negotiations with the developers to take some of the accommodation in that building in order that they could have their accommodation adjusted to their own particular requirements; and the names of the developers in each such case.
Generally speaking, the circumstances surrounding the accommodation needs of Government Departments necessitate the negotiation of lettings at the construction stage. There have, however, been three cases which fall within the category referred to by the Deputy, namely, (a) the office block in course of construction in Kildare Place, Dublin by Kildare Properties Ltd in which will be centralised all of the headquarters staff of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, (b) the office block in Marlboro Street, Dublin, built by Marlborough Properties Ltd and already occupied by staff of the Department of Posts and Telegraphs, and (c) the building proposed to be erected at Kildare Street/Molesworth Street, Dublin, by Setanta Investments Ltd for which negotiations are in progress with a view to the relief of congestion in the National Library and the National Museum.
Does the Minister not think that this is a retrograde step? In other words, you are guaranteeing speculators that they will have tenants immediately the buildings are provided and in some cases even before they start to build? Is the Minister aware that the rents being paid by the Government would cover the cost of construction in something like five years? Does he not agree that this is a racket and that the Government should not be part of it?
I am afraid I would not agree. I should like to point out to the Deputy that where the Office of Public works has prior consultation with regard to the adaptability of a premises for a particular purpose this takes place only after it has been decided to build the office block.
Not before it is built?
No; there is no commitment so far as I am aware. I was in the Office of Public Works when this started and we were very glad at the time to get office accommodation when an international organisation reported that we had more obsolescent office accommodation than any other capital.
The Minister is aware that it is one thing to decide to build and another thing to build. One may decide to build and find that one has not the necessary money. In these three cases speculators were guaranteed tenants at a good profit before they spent a penny. It is a racket that the Government should not be mixed up in.
I should like to emphasise that they are not guaranteed until final letting agreements are entered into.
The Minister does not mean to tell me that you can tell them to change their structure and their building and the design—because that has been done in places—if no agreement has been entered into.