The decision to vacate Nos. 5-6 Ely Place, where the Valuation Office has been housed for many years, was taken having regard to the facts that (a) the lease on one of the buildings was expiring and this coincided with a lease break option on the other building and (b) that the two buildings are, for the most part, over 200 years old and are not suitable for the Valuation Office's current basis of operation. It is the policy of the Office of Public Works to vacate such premises and upgrade Civil Service accommodation whenever possible.
An opportunity to move to a new building of adequate size arose last year and Valuation Office management decided to avail of it. The relocation is scheduled to take place in March 1998. Having regard to some concerns expressed about this move, however, I propose to review what has been decided to see if their concerns can be alleviated.