Digital Hub sells €24m property assets to LDA for knockdown €1.25m
Fiach Mac Conghail, Chief Executive Officer, The Digital Hub, and Darina Kneafsey, Chair of the Digital Hub Development Agency. PHOTO: Mark Stedman
The Digital Hub Development Agency (DHDA) has agreed to sell properties with a book value of €24m to the Land Development Agency (LDA) for a knockdown price of €1.25m.
The 2025 annual report for the DHDA discloses that Heads of Terms with the LDA were agreed at a DHDA board meeting in February of this year.
It states that the agreed sale is in compliance with the Government decision to dissolve the DHDA.
A note states that when the transaction with the LDA is recorded in the 2026 accounts it will reduce the DHDA balance sheet valuation of development assets by €24.1m.
It states that the cash consideration from the transaction will be €1.25m.
In his report, ceo of the DHDA Fiach Mac Conghail states that it continued to work closely in 2025 with the LDA as it plans for new housing developments on parts of The Digital Hub’s campus.
A late payment by the DHDA concerning the Residential Zoned Land Tax attracts the attention of Comptroller and Auditor General, Seamus McCarthy.
He states that in February 2025 the DHDA incurred a Residential Zoned Land Tax liability amounting to €575,400 in respect of three vacant development sites it owns.
It states that the Agency paid the tax to the Revenue Commissioners in December 2025 and paid an additional €25,666 in interest due to the delay in making the tax payment.
A note attached to the accounts states that the objective of the tax is to activate land that is serviced and zoned for residential or mixed use to increase housing supply and ensure regeneration of vacant and idle lands in urban locations.
For the financial year ended 31 December 2025 the rate payable was 3% of the market value of the following three sites - Watling Street Warehouse; Cash and Carry and 24-27 Thomas Street and the liability was €574,500.
The Residential Zoned Land Tax replaces the Vacant Site levy and a note states that DHDA also paid an outstanding Vacant Site Levy liability for the financial year ended 31 December 2024 last year.
The note states that the rate payable was 7% of the Watling Street site valued by Dublin City Council at €4.5m and the vacant site levy (VSL) amounted to €315,000.
A report on internal control issues signed off by Mr Mac Conghail and chair, Darina Kneafsey said that in order to fund the payment of the RZLT and the VSL, a claim was made for additional Exchequer funding for these items in May 2025 and funding was received in December 2025.
The DHDA last year recorded a deficit of €6.34m for 2025 through mainly a property write down of €4.38m in development assets.
The DHDA’s income increased by 19% from €4.32m to €5.15m due mainly to an increase in Exchequer grants from €2.39m to €3.08m.
The agency’s running costs increased from €4.69m to €5.24m. The deficit for the year on operating activities totalled €87,433.
The report discloses that Mr Mac Conghail’s remuneration package for 2025 was €139,445.
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