It has emerged that the State racked up a bill of nearly €16m renting the Department of Health’s new headquarters in Dublin city centre before anyone moved into it.
The Office of Public Works entered a 25 year lease agreement on the Baggot Street in December 2016 – however the Department of Health only made the move in mid-July.
This afternoon the latest report on public services accounts from the Comptroller and Auditor General said that over €15.8m in rental costs and service charges had been racked up by April.
In a statement, Labour Party Health spokesperson Alan Kelly said serious questions need to be answered about the expenditure.
He said he was appalled at the “wasteful spending” during what he described as “one of the worst crisis periods our health service has seen.”
“The fact that the department is wasting €15.8 million in rent on a building that has remained vacant in a prime Dublin 2 area is completely and utterly wrong,” he said.
“We are currently in the throes of several crises in our health service,” he said.
“It must be particularly galling for workers within and users of our health services to read the headlines and see that the department has wasted a huge amount of money on a vacant building.”
The new Department of Health HQ in Dublin, 22-05-2018. Image: Sam Boal/RollingNews
The Department of Health moved into Miesian Plaza - the former Dublin headquarters of Bank of Ireland – in July of this year.
The C&AG report found no evidence that other buildings had been seriously considered to house the department – with Miesian Plaza identified as virtually the only option.
It said no effective coast analysis or economic appraisal was carried out – with no consideration of other lease, buy or build options.
The report found no evidence that the full costs – including fit-out, furniture, maintenance and operating costs – of the lease had been identified and evaluated.
It also found that the risks associated with the project were not set out – including issues with agreeing client departments’ accommodation needs and the effect on practical completion date.
The OPW said it considered two other options – the former Central Bank building on Dame Street and a property on St Stephen’s Green.
The first was rejected due to the complex structural challenges the building could present over the long term while the second was not pursued as it was suited to a department as large as health and the sitting tenant was demanding a “substantial contribution” to fit-out costs.
