Virtual meeting sought on €10m overpayment for State-occupied building
Miesian Plaza, Baggot Street Lower, Grand Canal Dock, Dublin. Picture: Gareth Chaney / Collins Photos
The State’s stalled quest to recoup a €10m rental overpayment for the headquarters of a number of Government departments has seen it request a virtual meeting with the developer in order to expedite the process.
The Office of Public Works, which has responsibility for managing much of the State’s property portfolio, has previously acknowledged it signed a rental agreement with Remley Developments, a property firm owned by beef tycoon Larry Goodman, in 2016, for the occupation of Miesian Plaza in central Dublin.
However, the building in question, which currently houses the Department of Health and elements of the Departments of Children and Public Expenditure and Reform, was measured using an obsolete standard in advance of the contract, leading to a potential overpayment of €10m over the life of the lease.
In an update to the Dáil Public Accounts Committee regarding the status of the issue, the OPW said its last meeting with Remleys, in January 2020, had been “quite constructive”.
However, with no further meetings or engagement with the landlord since, the OPW has now admitted that further progress has “proved difficult to achieve”, with the commissioners seeking another meeting with the landlord.
It said while a face-to-face meeting would be preferable, such an outcome does “not seem feasible” due to the ongoing Covid-19 lockdown.
The commissioners said they had instead sought a “virtual meeting” with the developer, with this “anticipated to take place in the coming weeks”.
The development at Miesian Plaza on Dublin’s southside was first leased by the OPW to play host to a number of Government departments in December 2016.
However, it subsequently remained empty for 18 months at a cost to the taxpayer of just under €16m.
State accountant the Comptroller and Auditor General previously said the OPW’s reasons for not reducing the rental payment with its landlord, once it realised the wrong measurement standard had been used, were “not clear”.
Last November, the OPW admitted the recovery of the multi-million overpayment “may not be achievable, at least in the short term”, with Commissioner Maurice Buckley describing the issue as having “taken the shine off a successful project”.
“However, the OPW will have an ongoing relationship with the landlord over the course of the 25-year lease and will continue to press for a satisfactory resolution,” he said.
