Vol. 237 No. 7
asked the Minister for Finance if he will state (a) the location, (b) the square-footage, (c) the rent, (d) the rates and (e) the landlord of the individual office lots rented by each Department of State in (i) Dublin and (ii) throughout the country.
16.
asked the Minister for Finance if he will give details of the ground rent paid by each Department of State on property owned by the State; and if he will name the recipients of the ten largest payments so derived together with the amount in each case.
With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 15 and 16 together.
The assembly of the information involved will take a considerable time and I shall be glad, therefore, if the Deputy will repeat the questions towards the end of February next.
Is it seriously suggested——
He is hoping he will not be there then.
——that the Board of Works cannot find out before the end of February what premises they have rented in the city of Dublin?
The question is not quite as simple as Deputy Dillon would suggest. If he reads it——
I am looking at question No. 15.
——he will appreciate that this covers literally thousands of properties of all kinds, large and small, in every town and village throughout the country and that the rounding up of the relevant information relating to this is quire a considerable task which we are immediately undertaking and will supply to Deputy Corish at the appropriate time.
Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that at the request of the Committee of Public Accounts 20 years ago the Board of Works undertook to prepare and did prepare a complete list of all their rented properties and an inventory of their freehold property and that presumably exists in the Board of Works and is kept up to date? If it is not, I would ask the Parliamentary Secretary is he acting in the spirit of the direction given him by the Committee of Public Accounts to maintain such an inventory for the information of the incumbent of his office for the time being?
Deputy Corish is not looking for something quite as simple as an inventory which would have to be brought up to date and would require a great deal of research. Deputy Corish asked for a great deal more than a mere inventory and, as I say, this will be prepared with as much speed as possible, but it is, of course, a very big job.
The Parliamentary Secretary does not know what property he has rented?
Not immediately. It is not possible to spit it out immediately.
