HSE pays out up to €1.5m in rent to private landlords

THE Health Service Executive (HSE) rents more than 100 premises around the country from private landlords at prices ranging from €50,000 to €1.5 million, the latest figures reveal.

The premises that tops the HSE’s own list is a primary care unit and area headquarters in Ballymun, North Dublin, which costs €1.56m a year to rent.

The premises was completed several years ago but lay idle for a time after a dispute emerged between the Department of Health and the then Northern Area Health Board over its use.

The rental bill for the period in which it was not used ran to several million euro and was eventually picked up by the HSE.

However the health agency said that the rent it pays for the facility is also part of a long-term purchase agreement. Therefore, the money was not lost or wasted.

In all, the HSE spends some €27m annually in rented premises. The information was obtained by Bernard Allen, Fine Gael TD for Cork North Central, in reply to a parliamentary question.

The HSE says that the amount spent on rent is very small when compared with the overall health budget of €14 billion.

In addition, many of the rented premises are health centres in suburban areas. Renting rather than purchasing them, said HSE sources, allowed the agency flexibility to adapt to shifting population and demographic trends.

Yesterday, the Irish Examiner revealed that the Government is the biggest private tenant in the State, paying some €150m annually to private landlords.

Some €120m of that is spent by the Office of Public Works, which manages property on behalf of the State.

The most expensive properties are located in the Dublin area, with departmental headquarters for Justice and Health costing many millions of euro in rent each year.