Enterprise Ireland facilities aimed at IT firms left vacant

TWO Enterprise Ireland- supported office facilities aimed at small and medium technology-based companies have been largely empty since their construction.

Furthermore, the majority of tenants in much vaunted Cork and Galway Webworks buildings are not technology companies but include some of the most prominent non-technology-based companies in the country.

The two buildings were undertaken as a public private partnership ventures with the local councils and a number of construction firms, McNamara Construction (Galway Webworks) and Howard Holdings (Cork Webworks) and Enterprise Ireland.

A total of €3.82 million was provided by Enterprise Ireland for the Cork Webworks building, while it provided €4.36m for the Galway Webworks building.

The grant agreements for both Cork and Galway Webworks provides that for the first five years post-completion, unless Enterprise Ireland agrees otherwise, all tenants should be small and medium enterprises (SME) in the services sector.

The Cork Webworks facility was opened in July 2006 by then enterprise minister Micheál Martin who said the project would create clusters of knowledge-driven companies and would act as “a catalyst in the development of a regional hub for technology and innovation”.

Throughout its existence, the building has remained largely empty. According to its website, just 17 out if its 36 units are occupied. However, Enterprise Ireland has said the building occupancy is about 35% — suggesting a lower figure of around 13 units.

The Galway Webworks, opened in 2009, fares much worse with just seven out of its 42 units occupied.

Speaking at the opening of the Cork building in 2006, it was clear that Mr Martin had a distinct vision for the Webworks project.

“It is expected the Webworks will contribute to the growth of a self-sustaining cluster of software and services based enterprises within the Cork area,” he said.

However, a look through the list of tenants for the Cork facility reveals few of what could be termed technology-based SMEs.

Some of the tenants include Dillon Eustace Solicitors, Scott Tallon Walker architects and leading landscape architects Brady Shipman Martin.

While the Galway building does contain a number of technology-based companies, its overall occupancy remains extremely low.

It is understood that the lack of smaller technology- based operations in the Webworks buildings is, in large part, due to high rents and other service charges, putting its offices out of the price range of most SMEs.