New Heuston Hall HQ will cost Department €7,000 a week
But they will not be moving out the country as the farmers had urged, but are instead re-locating to a new building in an industrial estate at the edge of the city.
Heuston Hall at Raheen Industrial Estate is to become the new headquarters for the staff of the Department of Agriculture in the city who are vacating Munchin's House at Dock Road, which has been familiar to farmers in the region for many years.
The new headquarters is located within the industrial estate on the Cork side of the city and is currently being fitted out for the staff at a cost of almost €3m.
The building is being leased at a cost of more than €7,000 per week.
The Department of Agriculture had been at Munchin's House for about a quarter of a century, and the old offices are to be demolished to make way for re-development.
The new offices will be the county headquarters for the disease eradication scheme, livestock services and farm development. The old headquarters at Dock Road had been the subject of much criticism by farming organisations over the past decade because of the difficulties being experienced by farmers in doing business in the citybased offices with the traffic congestion in Limerick.
Coming in for the strongest criticism was the lack of parking facilities for the public including farmers doing business at the office which has been a feature of Munchins House where most of the parking was restricted to staff and pass holders.
Some of the farming leaders had suggested that the move should be to Kilmallock 20miles from the city as a central base for the county.
However, at least some of their concerns have been addressed in the new location which will be very accessible and will provide for easy parking for farmers visiting the office.
