asked the Minister for Finance the amount paid in rent and rates for office accommodation in each of the past ten years for (a) Government Departments and (b) State and semi-State bodies; and the action the Government intend to take to provide office accommodation for Government Departments and State and semi-State bodies.
Written Answers. - Office Rents.
420.
The total amounts paid in rent and rates in each of the past ten years for accommodation occupied by Government Departments, excluding the Department of Posts and Telegraphs which acquires its own accommodation, are as follows:
|
Year |
Total |
|
£ |
|
|
1972-73 |
864,957 |
|
1973-74 |
1,229,934 |
|
1974 |
1,362,495 |
|
1975 |
2,213,350 |
|
1976 |
2,972,400 |
|
1977 |
3,347,330 |
|
1978 |
4,325,595 |
|
1979 |
5,109,524 |
|
1980 |
6,634,112 |
|
1981 |
9,591,776 |
The amounts are inclusive of rent and rates paid in respect of storage, etc. properties. It would take an inordinate amount of time to extract details of such charges and the amounts would not in any event be significant.
Offices occupied by semi-State bodies are the responsibility of those bodies and I have not the relevant information in respect of them.
An office building programme to meet the needs of Government Departments is in progress. Much of the building work already done has consisted of the refurbishing of existing sub-standard State-owned buildings and the replacement of leased premises which had to be surrendered. The programme will yield an increasing proportion of new office space thus reducing dependence on rented space. Rented space will, of course, continue to be acquired to meet urgent demands which cannot be catered for by the programme. The provision of new buildings to enable the decentralisation of civil servants to provincial centres to take place will also improve the overall accommodation situation.