Good news for those property professionals who have been having sleepless nights at the dwindling vacant office space in Dublin city centre – still over 20% though somehow the property companies are trying to convince us that 15% is the new 5% normal vacancy level. Junior finance minister at Brendan Howlin’s Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, Brian Hayes yesterday told the Society of Chartered Surveyors in Ireland that “being blunt, there is much greater value on the outskirts of Dublin and if we are serious about saving money not all functions need to be city centre based” So any imminent shortages in the Dublin city centre office market might be alleviated!
The junior minister was referring to plans to cut the Government’s expenditure on accommodation in its 2,200 buildings of which 900 are leased by the State at an annual cost of €112m in 2012 which the Minister wants cut to below €100m in 2015. Within certain echelons of official Ireland, eyebrows have been raised at the continued occupation of prestigious Dublin city centre buildings when rents can be 70% less just a 20-minute Luas jaunt away. It’s unclear when the NTMA’s lease on its HQ at Treasury Buildings expires or if the present receiverships of Treasury companies may affect the expiry date, but is there any reason it can’t be moved, perhaps closer to Dublin airport to facilitate meetings with all these international investors that NAMA keeps talking about – apparently there are locations available in Balbriggan and Swords!
We should not be surprised that the State’s property bill is coming down – the public sector employed 320,000 people in 2008 and it is intended that this should fall to 282,500 by the end of 2014. The Minister also referred to other streamlining measures in his speech. The Minister also referred to the construction sector and whilst we all accept that the sector in still on the floor, there were some rays of home given with accommodation needs for new enterprise.
The transcript of the Minister’s speech is here. Those attending were seemingly impressed by the Minister’s grasp of map-based inventories, standardised fitouts and other technical issues.
‘Since 2008 about €24bn has been taken out of the economy by way of tax rises and expenditure cuts. If there is any good news, it’s that we just have about €8.5bn to go between now and 2015. We are making progress’
Won’t that be 17.5 billion more ‘taken out of the economy’ between now and 2015?
@John, well spotted, yes the junior finance minister is comparing apples with oranges or more specifically single year apples with cumulative apples. Between now and 2015, another €18.7bn cumulatively will be taken out of the economy according to the present government plans (Fiscal Advisory Council recommends €21bn)
http://namawinelake.wordpress.com/2012/09/13/fiscal-council-proposes-e21bn-of-cuts-and-taxes-in-2013-15-compared-to-government-plans-of-e18-7bn/
Let’s hope our ‘fiscal multiplier’ is on low side.
Reilly will be in trouble again.Mary Harney hated the building the Dept of Health are in so I presume it could be one of the buildings the Govt. could be due to vacate.It really is a horrible place.I would hate to have to work in it. Freezing in winter and boiling in summer.It is certainly not a pretty building and would not be missed in the city centre.
@ Camella I agree it is a horrible building, however it had one huge advantage when I worked in it – you could open the windows. However its location was second to none.
However I thought it had been sold and that Dept of Health are in it purely on a short term basis? .
Joint Development Initiative for Hawkins House
06/12/2007
Shelbourne Development has announced a joint initiative with the Office of Public Works (OPW) to redevelop the Department of Health building at Hawkins House in Dublin 2.
Under the new contract, Hawkins House and the adjacent Apollo House site which was acquired by Shelbourne Development in 2005, will be demolished to facilitate the future regeneration of this prime city centre location. Agents Jones Lang LaSalle advised the OPW.
The decision by the OPW to embark on joint ventures with developers is designed to capitalise on the rising property values of recent years rather than benefit from one-off public tender sales. Shelbourne Development and the State will share the rental income when the replacement development is eventually let.