€1 mill rent for civil service offices in Portlaoise while €1 mill site for HQ in Laois town lies idle

Nearly €1 million is being spent in Laois each year renting offices for civil servants while a site which cost over €1 million for a new HQ in Portlaoise lies idle according to Sinn Fein TD Brian Stanley.

The Laois Offaly TD called for a plan to resolve the situation which has its origins in Charlie McCreey's decentralisation project announced nearly two decades ago. Many jobs moved to Portlaoise through the Department of Agriculture.

“17 years after the announcement by then Minister for Finance Charlie McCreevy, that government departments were to be decentralised to Portlaoise, they are still located in 7 different buildings," said Dep Stanley.

"The Department of Agriculture is accommodated in no less than six of these. While decentralisation is very positive and a welcome boost to Laois, it was not done in a planned and cost-effective manner.

“I raised this again recently with the Office of Public Works (OPW) when they appeared before Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and sought further information regarding premises leased for Departments in Portlaoise and the annual cost of these. I also sought up to date information on the site purchased at a cost of €1.03 million for the Department of Agriculture at Mountrath Road Portlaoise.

"The information I received this week reveals a picture of poor planning and huge amounts of money being paid for years renting temporary accommodation," he said.

The information provided reveals the extent of the cost.

"The Government is paying a total of € 919,789 per annum for the 7 rented premises. The fact this has been ongoing for 17 years, shows that there has been a huge cumulative cost and bad use of taxpayers’ money," he said

The details of the leases are as follows:

Eircom Buildings (2 leases) €214,382

Clonminam Industrial Estate (Warehouse) €98,133

Kylekiproe Ind Est (Warehouse) €107,919

Kilminchy Court  €84,051

Grattan Business Centre  €264,640

Grattan House (2 leases) €74,150

James Fintan Lalor Avenue  €50,000

James Fintan Lalor House  €26,514

Dep Stanley said the total amount spent would have built substantial offices and warehousing which the Department of Agriculture need.

"What actually compounds matters is the fact that the Mountrath Road site has been lying vacant for years. The OPW is currently preparing a master plan for it and among the uses being considered are office accommodation, a vehicle testing centre and State warehouse facilities. But they have stated this “Will be dependent on substantial capital investment’’

"I am calling on Government to now move ahead with this project and not continue wasting public money renting for several more decades. Any plan for this site must accommodate all those sections of the Department of Agriculture not located in the existing Government Buildings on the Abbeyleix Road,” he said.

In May 2005 the then Minister for Agriculture and Food Mary Coughlan approved the purchase of offices from the Industrial Development Agency just off the Mountrath Road in Portlaoise.

"The site provides ample space for the development of a complex to accommodate up to 850 of the Department's staff," Ms Coughlan said at the time.

She added in a statement: "This decision clears the way for the OPW to finalise the organisation of the site and begin the task of building suitable new offices for the Department at the new location".

About 2,130 posts from various departments and agencies were due to move to 15 locations by 2008 in the first phase of a project that will see thousands of civil and public service jobs moved from Dublin to the regions.

Most of the moves were subsequently scrapped.