€45m Paris embassy tops State foreign portfolio
Figures released to Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty through a parliamentary question show Ireland in possession of an impressive array of real estate in many of the world’s capital cities.
The figures include that for the Villa Spada, a listed building in Rome that now acts as the main embassy in Italy, whereas previously it was the embassy to the Holy See.
Since the Government’s decision to close the embassy to the Vatican it moved staff from its rented Rome embassy to the building it owns, with the valuation of the Villa Spada listed at €18.4m.
The properties in France and Italy are by far the most valuable, but just five of the properties owned by the State for diplomatic purposes overseas are worth less than €1m.
The list only includes those properties owned by the State, and so does not include London, where the embassy is rented.
In the United States the Washington Chancery is valued at €2.6m, the Washington residence is valued at €4.1m and New York permanent mission to the UN residence is valued at €5.7m.
One possible issue with the figures is that many of the valuations were undertaken as far back as 2005, although it is understood that valuations are only requested by diplomatic staff in a country in light of any major change in market values.
The department has kept the whole area of residences and embassies under review as it seeks ways to save money, but one source said valuations of properties would not necessarily reflect the prices they might achieve on the open market.
In addition, it is often seen as less expensive to own and maintain a property rather than pay expensive rents.
Some of the properties listed may be revalued in the near future to take account of changes in the marketplace in recent years.
The figures also differ from those provides last year by the Comptroller and Auditor General.
The Audgen report into the Department of Foreign Affairs for 2011 put the department’s land and building assets at almost €160m at the end of 2011, not including other figures such as motor vehicles and furniture and fittings.
The same report said three embassy premises — Paris, Holy See and permanent mission to the United Nations in New York — had been revalued during the year.
This has resulted in a total increase in their values of €11.43m.
