asked the Minister for Finance if he will give particulars of the date upon which his Department became tenants of premises at Ansley House, Mespil Road, Dublin and details of the rent payable in respect of the said premises, the purpose for which they were acquired, the expense, if any, involved in making the premises suitable for occupation, and the date upon which the respective sections of the Department of Industry and Commerce such as the Labour Court and the Apprenticeship Board, for which the premises were acquired, went respectively into occupation of the premises.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Acquisition of Dublin Premises.
32.
Mr. Barrett
The Commissioners of Public Works have entered into a lease in respect of Ansley House with effect from 25th September, 1965. It is not the practice to disclose the amount of the rent payable in an individual case such as this as the figure concerned is a confidential one as between landlord and tenant and the Deputy will appreciate that it would not be in the public interest to do so.
The object of renting the building was to accommodate staffs whose existing premises are inadequate and unsuitable.
The cost of making the entire building suitable for occupation, partitioning, lighting, fittings, furnishing, etc., is estimated at £80,000. The four upper floors of the building are expected to be ready within the next two months for occupation by the Labour Court, An Cheard Comhairle, An Foras Tionscal and the Industrial Development Authority. The final allocation of the space on the other two floors has not yet been settled but at least portion of it will be required for the proposed Manpower Division of the Department of Industry and Commerce.
Mr. Barrett:
Could the Parliamentary Secretary give the House any details of the nature, extent and use of the £80,000 spent in adapting these premises?
I have not got those details.
Who is paying the £80,000? Are the Government paying £80,000 to accommodate a building they are renting?
Yes.
You are gone out of your minds.
Where are they getting the £80,000?
I cannot believe my ears. Is it true that we have entered into a contract to rent a large part of Ansley House, presumably owned by some private entrepreneur, and that having entered into that contract, we have undertaken to spend £80,000 to make the accommodation we have rented from the individual suitable for our occupation?
It is a long lease.
It would want to be a long lease. That is the daftest arrangement I have ever heard of.