asked the Minister for Finance if he will state in respect of each of the premises specified in a reply to Question No. 36 on the 14th March, 1967, the annual rent paid and the amount of such rent per square foot of office area; whether it is proposed to apply to buy out any of these rents under the Landlord and Tenant Act, 1967; and, if so, which.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Leasing of Government Offices.
122.
As the Deputy will be aware from replies to previous questions, it is not the practice nor would it be in the public interest to disclose the amounts of commercial rents as distinct from ground rents payable in respect of individual premises occupied by Government Departments.
There is no objection to the publication of particulars of ground rents and, with your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I propose to circulate with the Official Report a tabular statement showing the amounts of ground rents payable in respect of such of the premises listed in reply to Question No. 36 on the 14th March, 1967, as are subject to those rents. I do not see that any useful purpose would be served by a calculation of the rate per square foot of office space in these cases.
No decision has yet been taken in regard to the purchase of the ground rents concerned, pursuant to the Landlord and Tenant Act, 1967. It is not to be expected that there will be a short term purchase plan.
Following is the statement:
|
Premises |
Office Area (Sq. feet) |
Ground Rent per annum |
||
|
£ |
s. |
d. |
||
|
4 Kildare Street |
5,550 |
11 |
7 |
6 |
|
23/28 Kildare Street |
44,100 |
137 |
14 |
11 |
|
State group of buildings: |
||||
|
Kildare Street/Merrion Square |
12,200 |
20 |
13 |
10 |
|
15/16 Upper Merrion Street |
5,900 |
91 |
13 |
10 |
|
26 Upper Merrion Street |
2,100 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
27 Upper Merrion Street |
3,600 |
55 |
0 |
0 |
|
28 Upper Merrion Street |
3,500 |
52 |
0 |
0 |
|
29 Upper Merrion Street |
3,700 |
55 |
0 |
0 |
|
31 Upper Merrion Street |
2,500 |
25 |
0 |
0 |
|
32 Upper Merrion Street |
2,400 |
20 |
0 |
0 |
|
2 Merrion Square |
3,300 |
6 |
0 |
0 |
|
3 Merrion Square |
4,100 |
65 |
0 |
0 |
|
5 Merrion Square |
2,600 |
55 |
0 |
0 |
|
44/45 Merrion Square |
6,100 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
61 Merrion Square |
3,800 |
55 |
0 |
0 |
|
64/65 Merrion Square |
6,840 |
110 |
0 |
0 |
|
73 Merrion Square |
3,600 |
50 |
0 |
0 |
|
83 Merrion Square |
3,600 |
40 |
0 |
0 |
|
88/89 Merrion Square |
7,400 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
|
93 Merrion Square |
4,000 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
1 Hume Street |
5,300 |
64 |
12 |
4 |
|
10 Hume Street |
1,800 |
63 |
0 |
0 |
|
50/51 St. Stephen's Green |
36,000 |
330 |
8 |
7 |
|
78/81 St. Stephen's Green |
23,500 |
130 |
8 |
5½ |
|
26/27 Upper Pembroke Street |
7,150 |
61 |
0 |
0 |
|
21 Fitzwilliam Square |
3,100 |
10 |
0 |
|
|
13/14 Earlsfort Terrace |
10,600 |
19 |
7 |
6 |
|
11A Harcourt Terrace |
1,000 |
75 |
0 |
0 |
|
Rere 12/16 Harcourt Terrace |
300 |
10 |
0 |
0 |
|
73 Lower Baggot Street |
3,900 |
67 |
6 |
0 |
|
Pembroke Row |
4,500 |
70 |
0 |
0 |
|
3 Exchange Court |
200 |
144 |
19 |
8 |
|
Werburgh Street Employment Exchange |
4,700 |
18 |
9 |
2 |
|
70/74, Upper Stephen Street |
16,280 |
193 |
7 |
3½ |
|
28/29 and 38/43 Ship Street |
||||
|
21 Parliament Street |
5,200 |
43 |
0 |
0 |
|
Dún Uí Ghríofa |
||||
|
South Circular Road (North Block and portion of West Block) |
25,700 |
182 |
4 |
4 |
|
121/125 Lr. Rathmines Road |
1,500 |
55 |
2 |
0 |
|
Dundrum Road (Central Mental Hospital) |
900 |
46 |
18 |
4 |
|
Greenmount Lane, Harold's Cross (Post Office Engineering Department) |
1,530 |
3 |
7 |
4 |
|
Veterinary College Ballsbridge |
1,300 |
191 |
7 |
6 |
|
9/10 Burlington Road |
4,500 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
Haddington Road (Stationery Office) |
8,600 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
91 Lr. George's St., Dún Laoghaire |
300 |
28 |
0 |
0 |
|
14/15 Upper O'Connell Street |
17,300 |
139 |
7 |
8 |
|
44 Upper O'Connell Street |
5,000 |
60 |
0 |
0 |
|
45 Upper O'Connell Street |
6,900 |
11 |
18 |
2 |
|
General Post Office |
102,600 |
224 |
7 |
8 |
|
28 Parnell Square |
4,200 |
70 |
0 |
0 |
|
16/17 Beresford Place |
4,600 |
90 |
0 |
0 |
|
Custom House |
56,700 |
206 |
14 |
2½ |
|
Talbot House, Talbot Street |
8,200 |
50 |
1 |
0 |
|
28/29 Marlboro Street |
24,600 |
115 |
7 |
6 |
|
26 Eden Quay |
3,400 |
36 |
11 |
0 |
|
100/105 Amiens Street |
800 |
54 |
16 |
8 |
|
Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin |
Nil |
219 |
16 |
10 |
|
Marlboro House, Glasnevin |
400 |
25 |
0 |
0 |
|
6/9 Conyngham Road |
6,190 |
9 |
0 |
0 |
|
Infirmary Road (Dept. of Defence) |
44,600 |
23 |
1 |
6½ |
|
Pearse Street Letter Sorting Office |
2,500 |
Peppercorn Rent |
||
|
Montpelier Hill (Dept. of Posts and Telegraphs) |
Nil |
48 |
14 |
0 |
|
Distillery Road (Dept. of Posts and Telegraphs) |
2,370 |
105 |
0 |
0 |
|
Thorndale (Beaumont Road) |
260 |
176 |
0 |
0 |
|
Abbotstown Farm, Castleknock |
180 |
1 |
16 |
11 |
NOTE: The areas shown in Column 2 represent office accommodation only; they do not include storage, etc., areas.
(Cavan): Could the Parliamentary Secretary state what objection there is to disclosing the rents paid by the various Departments for housing.
A disclosure of that kind would prejudice all future negotiations for office accommodation, not only for the State but for private individuals as well.
(Cavan): For what reasons does the Parliamentary Secretary arrive at that conclusion?
This has always been the practice and there are good reasons on which this practice has been based. On the other hand, there are not any equally good reasons why the nature of the rents should be disclosed.
(Cavan): Does the Parliamentary Secretary take the view that Members of this House are not entitled to ascertain the rents paid by Departments of State for office accommodation?
I take the view that questions on rents, such as this, are of a confidential nature and should be treated as such. This has always been the practice by Governments in this State.
(Cavan): I respectfully suggest that this is nonsense. Is it true that some of these buildings were built on the assumption and on the understanding that they would be leased by Government Departments later?
They were.
Question No. 123.
Some Deputies of the Fine Gael Party seem to be terribly uneasy about this matter of——
Speculators.
——about the rent of office accommodation by the Government. Before 1948 there was a major plan by the Government for building Government offices in Dublin Castle in order that the Government would own its own offices. It is a tragedy that this plan was scrapped.
Question No. 123.
What have the Government been doing during the last 16 years?
This question would not have arisen at all if the planners of the Fianna Fáil Government had been permitted to go ahead by the first coalition, and we would have our own offices. It is fair to ask the Fine Gael Deputies, too, what do they want in the absence of renting Government offices. Do we rent them or build them?
(Cavan): We want to know what you are paying your friends.
Question No. 123.
Hear, hear. Your friends, the speculators.
This is the nub of the question. I want to say to Deputy T.J. Fitzpatrick (Cavan) that if he feels there is something that should be brought out in public in this matter of the leasing of Government offices he should be man enough to say it. Let him come out and say what he pretends to know. This is muzzling.
I am calling Question No. 123.
The Parliamentary Secretary refuses to give the information. If there is nothing to hide, why not give it?
Question No. 123.
Let the Deputy stand up and make a charge if he has one.
You are 16 years in office and why did you not build these office?
(Interruptions.)
I am calling Question No. 123.
This is very much like election stuff.
Why do the Fine Gael Deputies not come out and say what they mean?
(Cavan): I challenge the Parliamentary Secretary to give the information.
Restoring the Irish language, abolishing the Border——
Will the Deputy please allow the Parliamentary Secretary to proceed, or leave the House? I repeat that I shall have to ask him to leave the House if he does not conduct himself as he should.
The Government have been in office——
If the Deputy insists on interrupting, I will ask him to leave the House. Question No. 123.