Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 27 April 2005
131 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Finance the total anticipated costs, in terms of acquiring and equipping premises and other related costs, at the latest date for which figures are available of the original decentralisation programme announced in budget 2004 and the slimmed down version announced in December 2004; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13360/05]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Government is committed to the full implementation of the decentralisation programme announced in budget 2004, involving some 10,500 Civil Service and public service jobs in more than 56 locations. The Office of Public Works is in the process of procuring appropriate properties in the designated locations for the Departments and agencies involved, with much progress having been made over the past number of months. Property acquisition negotiations are completed or are significantly advanced at more than 20 locations, with the most recent contract signed in Sligo earlier this month.
The prevailing property market conditions in each geographical area have a significant bearing on the cost of acquiring sites. As the acquisition process is still in progress, it is not possible at this stage to provide a precise estimate of the cost of the site acquisition programme. However, for working purposes only, an indicative figure of €75 to €100 million is being used by the OPW.
The decentralisation implementation group, DIG, announced the names of the Departments and organisations selected to move in the first phase of the programme on 24 November 2004. A further report from the group on the procurement and financial issues relating to property was also published on 24 November 2004. The next stage in the decentralisation process will focus on the construction of office accommodation on the sites being procured by the OPW. In line with the DIG report on procurement, the OPW advertised for expressions of interest in the first 15 design-build projects in December 2004. A significant response was received and a number of contractors are being pre-qualified. The programme is on target to meet the deadlines published by the DIG.
In regard to the public private partnership, PPP, approach recommended by the DIG, the OPW has been developing a comprehensive risk-adjusted costing of project elements to measure the value-for-money of future PPP bids. It is anticipated that, in the vast majority of cases, the accommodation facilities will be provided by the construction of new office buildings and cost estimation can be approached on that basis. However, in advance of actual market testing of any procurement methodology, it is possible only to assign the most general measurements of cost to such a large-scale, diverse and complex programme.
It is estimated that approximately 210,000 sq. m. of office space will be required to accommodate the total numbers included in the programme. Current OPW cost norms in respect of offices indicate an average build-cost to fit-out standard in the range of €1,800 per square metre to €2,200 per square metre. Such figures exclude VAT, professional fees and inflation. In addition, the cost of equipping the accommodation to standard office equipment levels could be estimated at €4,000 per person. This would exclude the cost of information and communication technology and specialised equipment requirements.
Such general measurements of cost do not include specialised facility and equipment requirements and other variables which would arise from the spread of possible procurement methodologies. Moreover, general cost indicators of this type show a snapshot in time. It is self evident that a firmer scale of costs for the decentralisation programme will only emerge on foot of actual cost proposals being received from the market later this year. Nevertheless, we can clearly anticipate that the cost of providing accommodation infrastructure in provincial locations compared with central Dublin locations should yield considerable cost savings to the State over time in terms of site costs, capital build costs and maintenance costs.
