Decentralisation of Government Departments is a central element of Government plans and its commitment to the relocation of Government offices away from Dublin was repeated by the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, in his last Budget speech.
Delays in putting together the next round of decentralisation decisions has, however, put substantial acquisition activity on hold at the Office of Public Works. The OPW handles the State's property portfolio, the largest single portfolio on this island, with 11 million sq ft under its control.
It can't move until it knows what Departments will move next and how many staff are involved. There is little doubt, however, that more moves are in the pipeline.
"There is a definite Government commitment to decentralisation. What we don't know is how it will affect individual Departments," explains Mr Tom Sherlock, principal officer in the OPW's Property Management Service. "We are awaiting a Government decision on what Departments are to be decentralised and what numbers are to be catered for."
He acknowledges that major property decisions cannot be made until the shape of the next decentralisation crystallises. "We are certainly not taking major strategic decisions at the moment," he said.
This does not mean that the OPW is unable to manoeuvre if it needs space for an expanding Department or a new service. "We are not entirely on hold. We are probably just about coming to the point where we will have to go to the Department of Finance and seek approval for some accommodation," says Mr Sherlock.
The Department had given a commitment that pressing and immediate need for space would be catered for, so any prolonged delay in finalising the next tranche of decentralisation should not provoke any housing crisis for the OPW or the Departments for which it acts.
Decentralisation remains in the news, however, as the "residue of a previous Government decision" moves through the system, says Mr Sherlock. For example, a target site has been identified in Roscommon for the Central Registry Office and construction should begin shortly in Dundalk on a site for part of the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs. The Fisheries Research Institute will be moving from Abbotstown in north Dublin and the OPW is working to bring this about: "We are in the process of seeking a site for them at the moment."
More controversial decisions on decentralisation have been a lightning rod for media, public and political attention. One related to the decision to transfer the Legal Aid Board to Caherciveen, within the Minister for Justice's own constituency. Another was the decision to relocate the National Disease Surveillance Centre from Dublin to Tullamore, a decision made by the area's sitting TD, Mr Brian Cowen, one of his last decisions taken as Minister for Health.
The OPW needs to see "what the post-decentralisation landscape will be", says Mr Sherlock, before it can begin any substantial moves on the property front. It will operate under two givens, however: decentralisation will continue; and it will continue on the basis that the State would prefer to own rather than lease the properties it occupies.
It owns 77 per cent of its 11 million sq ft holdings, with 23 per cent under rent, a situation which gives it an annual rental bill of more than £36 million. This is a dramatic change from the position only five years ago, when the ratio was about 60 per cent owned to 40 per cent rented.
The rapid change, Mr Sherlock says, has been fuelled by the strong budgetary position which has delivered surplus revenues, but also by market forces. In particular, the dramatic and unprecedented rise in Dublin rents has meant that it made better economic sense to own rather than lease property.
The OPW, he says, is not under a rent rise cosh so it is not being forced into a rush to decentralise to avoid rent reviews. Most "modern" leases require a five-year review and these are paced out, with perhaps 10 or 12 properties coming up for review per year. There was no "big bang" increase on the way.
Even so, the price per sq ft is on an upward trend everywhere, he says, and this will encourage more transfers to owned properties where appropriate.
If nothing else, decentralisation will bring a "comprehensive review" of the OPW's total portfolio and support its ongoing programme of modernisation of public service accommodation, Mr Sherlock says. "We will make strategic decisions in terms of the portfolio on where we will make surrenders."
One other certainty is that demand for property and space in Dublin will continue. "So long as Dublin remains the capital and the seat of government, there will be a demand for offices both to serve Government and give space near the Government. There is an essential requirement for this."
