asked the Minister for Finance the cost of the new complex at (1) Beggar's Bush, Dublin 4 and (2) Bishop's St., Dublin 8 for the Stationery Office; whether these buildings are subject to any leasehold interest or mortgage; the annual costs of heating, lighting maintenance and repairs to these buildings; the number of staff employed there; the annual cost of the Stationery Office; and whether he will give consideration to privatising the office and disposing of its assets.
Written Answers. - Stationery Office.
32.
The Stationery Office no longer occupies any accommodation in Beggar's Bush and all the office's operations apart from the Government Publications Sales Office have been centralised in Bishop Street. As such I propose to confine my reply to the Bishop Street premises.
The cost of the new complex at Bishop Street for the Stationery Office is £8.55 million including fees for consultants, fitting out, floor covering and furniture. The fee simple of the premises was conveyed to the Commissioners of Public Works in 1978.
The annual cost of heating, lighting, maintenance and repairs to this building is of the order of £196,000. There are 136 staff located in Bishop Street which since 1 January 1988 has become the headquarters of the Government Supplies Agency. This agency consists of the Stationery Office, the Central Purchasing Section of the Department of Defence and existing central purchasing functions of the Office of Public Works. The net out-turn of the Stationery Office Vote (No. 16) for 1987 was £9.136 million.
Consideration is not being given to privatising the Stationery Office and disposing of its assets. In order to comply with the provisions of the Documentary Evidence Act, 1925, there must be an identifiable Stationery Office.