Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 545 and 546 together.

My Department and the 8 Offices of my Department currently occupy 11 buildings within the State. A list of the buildings involved is attached as a tabular statement. All of the buildings listed in the tabular statement are occupied by the Department or the Offices of the Department.

With the exception of a building in Shannon occupied by the National Employment Rights Authority (NERA), none of the buildings or premises occupied by my Department and the 8 Offices of my Department are rented or leased by the Department or the Offices concerned. In general, all buildings and premises occupied by my Department and its Offices are provided by the Office of Public Works (OPW) without any cost to the Department or the Offices. In many of those cases the buildings/premises are rented or leased by the OPW and the information requested by the Deputy in relation to the cost of same for 2008 and 2009 could only be supplied by the Office of Public Works.

NERA's Shannon accommodation is held under a four-year licence agreement between the OPW and NERA on the one hand and Westpark Shannon Limited on the other. The licence agreement commenced in February 2009. The licence fee, which was paid by NERA in 2009, amounts to €156.08 per square metre, subject to a maximum charge of €32,480 per annum (exclusive of VAT). Since 1 January 2010 the OPW has assumed responsibility for the payment of the licence fee costs for NERA's Shannon accommodation.

Due to the decentralisation process, the transfer of staff to other Government Departments and the reduction in staff levels generally in the Department and in the Offices of the Department in recent times, a certain amount of office space has become available in most of the buildings and my Department is currently engaged in a process to ensure that the buildings occupied by the Department and its Offices are occupied to the optimum levels possible.

Tabular Statement

Location of Building Occupant

23 Kildare Street Department of Enterprise, Trade & Innovation

Dublin 2

Earlsfort Centre Department of Enterprise, Trade & Innovation

Lower Hatch Street

Davitt House Department of Enterprise, Trade & Innovation

65A Adelaide road Employment Appeals Tribunal

Dublin 2 NERA Dublin Regional Office

14 Parnell Square Companies Registration Office

Dublin 1 Registry of Friendly Societies

16 Parnell Square Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement

Dublin 1

Tom Johnson House Labour Relations Commission

Haddington Road Labour Court

Dublin 4

Government Buildings Patents Office

Hebron Road

Kilkenny

Government Buildings National Employment Rights Authority (NERA)

O'Brien Road Companies Registration Office

Carlow

Centre Park House NERA Regional Office

Centre Park Road

Cork

Westpark Business Campus NERA Regional Office

Shannon

Co. Clare

Finisklin Business Park NERA Regional Office

Sligo