Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Question 11: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation the full cost of moving all Enterprise Ireland offices to a single location in East Point, Dublin 3; the cost per year of leasing office space in East Point; the length of time for which a lease has been signed; if Enterprise Ireland rents car park spaces in Dublin; if so, the number of same and the cost; if there were additional staff costs associated with moving Enterprise Ireland to East Point; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24253/10]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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When Enterprise Ireland was established in 1998 it became a strategic objective to bring all Dublin based staff together in one location. This was achieved with the move to East Point Business Park in September 2008. Until this time, Enterprise Ireland occupied four office locations in Dublin, primarily as a result of the amalgamation of various state agencies into a single organisation over a number of years to support indigenous enterprise. From an operational perspective, occupying four separate locations in Dublin was not satisfactory for an Agency mandated to provide a range of services and expertise in a holistic manner across several critical business functions.

The capital cost of moving from four Dublin based Enterprise Ireland offices to a single location at East Point amounted to €24m. A breakdown of these costs is set out in the tabular statement.

The annual cost of leasing the property is €3.55m, which includes rent and service charge. This compares to an annual cost of €4.42m for leasing the previous locations at Merrion Hall, IPC House and a portion of Wilton House – an annual saving of €0.87m. The move to a single location also resulted in operational savings of €1m per annum. Options are being explored regarding the disposal of the Glasnevin site, following which approximately €1m in savings will accrue – which will bring the total savings to approximately €3m per annum. The lease is for 25 years with 10 and 15 year break clauses.

Enterprise Ireland leased 290 car parking spaces from the East Point Management Company. In addition, EI procured an additional 80 spaces from Dublin Port Company - these spaces are primarily used for clients attending Enterprise Ireland events hosted at East Point. The total cost of all spaces is €373,000 per annum.

There was minimal additional staff costs associated with the move. Following a Labour Relations Commission hearing, it was agreed that each staff member would receive a small gratuity and the total cost for 620 staff amounted to €65,000 approximately. The recommendation was in line with agreement reached for other state agency moves.

Breakdown of capital costs associated with moving to East Point