Departmental Expenditure

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 June 2010

Tuesday, 15 June 2010

Ceisteanna (49)

Joan Burton

Ceist:

134 Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Finance the cost of the acquisition of the former Motorola premises in Swords, County Dublin, for the National Museum in respect of annual rent or lease costs; the incurred and expected refurbishment costs of using the building for museum storage; the plans for other facilities used for such storage; if he will confirm that the owner of the facility at Swords is a well known developer (details supplied); if liabilities to the National Asset Management Agency will be offset against the rent payable by the museum or Department on the lease if the developer is in the NAMA process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25289/10]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister of State at the Department of Finance (Deputy Martin Mansergh)

The Office of Public Works (OPW) will pay an annual rent of €1m in respect of the former Motorola premises in Swords. The cost for the adaptation works to facilitate the National Museum's requirements is of the order of €1,560,000.

OPW is evaluating a range of options for the space, which will become available after the National Museum transfers its stored collections to the new facility.

The premises are leased from the person referred to in the question.

The question of whether a landlord is involved in the NAMA process is outside the remit of the OPW, as the National Asset Management Agency Act 2009 does not provide a Statutory provision for a State body withholding money owed to an entity, which owes money to NAMA, in order to satisfy the debt to NAMA.