Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 14 Oct 1993

Vol. 434 No. 6

Adjournment Debate. - Santry (Dublin) Site Letting.

Mr. O'Malley

The last time I raised a matter on the Adjournment of this House was on 10 May 1989. The reverberations of that particular debate are still with us.

I say this to make it clear that I do not lightly raise matters on the Adjournment and do so only when I feel there is a serious matter at issue that requires examination and justification.

For the past 12 years a surfaced yard at Shanowen Road, Santry, Dublin 9 has been occupied by Joseph Murphy Structural Engineers Ltd., as tenants of the Office of Public Works. This big Irish owned company has carried on a substantial business in steel fabrication and erection in heavy steels, particularly for the construction industry. It employed more than 120 people, mainly men. Among major contracts it carried out here was the steel work for Moneypoint power station. On 17 August the company received a letter from the Office of Public Works telling it to vacate its premises by 14 September. It was impossible for the company to do this because it has stocks of about 2,500 tonnes of heavy steel and has nowhere to store such stocks.

Because of the uncertain future, as the company does not know how long it can remain there, Murphy's has been forced to let 45 people go from its employment, and if the problem is not resolved quickly there will be further job losses. If there have to be further job losses its operations here will become uneconomic and it will have to transfer its entire production to its English facility.

For some years Murphy's has been endeavouring to purchase this yard from the Office of Public Works. On the basis of a valuation it is prepared to make a substantial offer, in the region of £350,000, but the Office of Public Works is not prepared to consider any offer from it, no matter how great. If Murphy's could buy the yard it could re-employ the 45 people and secure the future of at least 120 workers.

The reason the Office of Public Works will not deal with Murphy's is because on the personal instructions of the Minister for Finance it has apparently entered into an arrangement with a football club to let the yard to it as an additional playing field, apparently at a lower rent. This makes no sense whatsoever as there are more suitable level grass playing fields in the immediate locality which would require much less work and expense to prepare them.

By selling this yard to Murphy's, not alone would the jobs of 120 people be preserved, but a surplus State asset could be realised to the substantial benefit of the Exchequer. By letting it to a football club the jobs concerned will all be lost, and the Exchequer will get little or nothing from the asset.

On 1 September last I wrote to the Minister of State in charge of the Office of Public Works, Deputy Dempsey, protesting at this proposal but I received no reply or acknowledgment. I understand the Minister for Finance made this decision as a result of representations made to him by a Deputy of his party on the northside of Dublin.

It seems to be a thoroughly bad decision which should be immediately reversed in the interest of employment, of prudent management of the State's assets and in the interest of equity and common sense. Not to reverse it would be scandalous.

I regret the Minister for Finance who made this decision, apparently against the advice of the Office of Public Works, is not present to reply to this debate.

Minister of State at the Department of Finance (Mr. Dempsey)

Joseph Murphy Structural Engineers Ltd have, since October 1988, occupied a site at Shanowen Road, Santry, owned by the Commissioners of Public Works. The company had sought a short term letting of the site to provide an extra storage area for raw steel prior to fabrication and was granted a letting area which could be terminated by either side on one week's notice. The site forms part of a larger plot of ground for which the commissioners had no immediate need, but it was envisaged that it would, at some future date, be developed for public service use. A short term letting was therefore of mutual benefit to both the company and the State.

From September 1989 St. Kevin's Boys Football Club, which has a clubhouse adjoining the plot, has been seeking to acquire the entire plot for the provision of playing facilities for the club members. In 1991 it became clear that the plot would not be required for public service use and, in June of that year, approval in principle was given to the grant of a lease of the plot to the club. The Office of Public Works entered into negotiations with the club on the terms and conditions of a lease, but it was not until August of this year that an agreement was finalised and the terms were approved by the Minister for Finance.

Throughout this period, Joseph Murphy Structural Engineers Ltd. continued to occupy the site on a short term letting. The company did, in September 1992, express an interest in purchasing the entire plot but was advised that it was not for sale and did not pursue the matter further. Apart from this inquiry, the company never sought to obtain a secure tenure of any part of the State property at Shanowen Road.

The agreement between the Commissioners of Public Works and St. Kevin's Boys FC provides for a 99-year lease for which the club will pay a substantial sum of money. On reaching this agreement in August 1993 the Commissioners gave the company four weeks' notice of the termination of its letting agreement, which exceeds the period of notice required. The company stated that it considered the notice inadequate and that the termination of the agreement posed a threat to employment. This was the first indication to the Office of Public Works that the company had any problem with the short term nature of the letting or the period of notice required on termination.

The Commissioners did everything possible to alleviate the difficulties facing the company. They offered an alternative site at Shanowen Road but this was rejected. The Commissioners were approached by agents representing the company seeking an extension of the letting period and also requesting that Office of Public Works discuss possible solutions with the football club which would permit the company to remain on the site. The period of the agreement was then extended by a further two weeks to the end of September 1993 and officials of the Commissioners and the Department of Finance held discussions with St. Kevin's Boys FC which culminated in an agreement to allow the company to continue to occupy the site for a further period of at least nine months, that is until July 1994. The club was also asked and agreed to consider all possible options for the property, including the possibility of accommodating, on the site, the company's long term storage needs, and to negotiate with the company on the matter. Surprisingly, however, the company decided to reject the extension of the letting period for nine months and I understand that it plans to vacate the plot within a few weeks.

I regret that this decision by Joseph Murphy Structural Engineers Ltd. may have led to some lay-offs. Indeed, I am surprised that the company should have chosen to lay-off staff before the temination date of its letting, and that it has continued to reduce its number of employees despite the offer to extend the agreement until July 1994. I am confident that, even at this stage, with goodwill on all sides, a satisfactory conclusion can be reached which will enable the football club to provide facilities for its members and at the same time meet the company's storage requirements, thus negating the need for any lay-offs. I am disappointed to note that the company has, to date, rejected this possibility, and I hope that it will reconsider its position.

Regarding what Deputy O'Malley said about not getting a reply from my office, his office was informed that the matter should be taken up with the Office of the Minister for Finance. That is why a reply was not sent from my office.

Mr. O'Malley

This problem was caused by the Minister for Finance and not by the company, as the Minister of State is trying to suggest now.

The Dáil adjourned at 5.25 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Friday, 15 October 1993.