Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State might be getting a bit confused. Only one Member of this House has a specific interest in Garda stations at the moment, and that is the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross. The State has been paying rent since January on the Miesian Plaza on Lower Baggot Street. A 25-year lease was agreed but staff are not due to move in until the middle of the year after it has been fitted out. I want to know how much the State is paying in rent, for office buildings in particular. It is hard to understand why we do not have enough office space in Dublin owned by Government and which, with a bit of reorganisation, could be reused.

The Minister said previously that €44 million in annual rent was saved and that a national asset database was being put together to allow Departments to use any spare space. At what stage is the database and when will it be made public?

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