By Vincent Ryan
Sunday May 10 2009

THE Government is spending €118m a year renting office space in Dublin from some of Ireland's richest people, and has so far failed to negotiate discounts despite the collapse in property prices.

Included in this figure is €1.127m spent renting empty office space, the Sunday Independent has learned.

The Office of Public Works says it rents office space as needed on behalf of government and other public service bodies. However many of the rent contracts have upward only conditions attached, meaning the rents cannot be reduced.

The spokesman also defended the amount spent renting empty office space. He said that the OPW keeps one per cent of its property portfolio vacant so as to maintain a degree of flexibility in case a new tribunal or agency is formed.

Sherry Fitzgerald Communications Director, Jill O'Neill, confirmed that commercial rents in Dublin have fallen by as much as 13 per cent since the property bubble burst in the last 18 months.

At a conservative estimate that means the State could have saved about €15m if it had sought to renegotiate the terms of leases on buildings it is renting across the capital in the last year alone.

Original Article