Vol. 563 No. 1
239 Mr. F. McGrath asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the fact that community and voluntary groups are unable to move into the Northside Civic Centre, Coolock, Dublin 17, on 31 March 2003 due to the fact the rent charges imposed on tenants by the Office of Public Works are too high; and if assistance will be given in resolving this issue. [6902/03]
The initial rent has been set at €15.00 per sq. ft. At the outset, the community-voluntary sector confirmed that they were willing to pay reasonable rent for their accommodation in the proposed civic centre. Bearing in mind what is in question, both the cost and high quality of the accommodation, the rent is not unreasonable and indeed, is well below present day market rents for similar type accommodation.
The Office of Public Works is aware that some of the voluntary sector groups are having difficulty funding the rental costs in the new centre. However, it is important to note that the primary remit of the Office of Public Works is to provide accommodation for Departments and Offices; it is not the Office of Public Works's role to fund voluntary organisations, either directly or indirectly. If additional funding is required by any of the voluntary groups to meet their rental costs, they should direct their requests for assistance to the appropriate authorities, i.e. the bodies or organisations that sponsor them or provide them with funding.
