Fine Gael TD John O’Mahony has hit out at the spending of rent on buildings by the Government for offices for decentralisation when the rent being paid on these buildings could be used to fund the projects already agreed on by the Government. Almost €10 million has been spent nationwide on the rent of offices by the Office of Public Works on behalf of the Government since the decentralisation programme began. O’Mahony told the Mayo Advertiser this week: “This is a huge issue in relation to the spending of money that could be used to get these offices in a permeant location. I’m fully supportive of the issue of decentralisation, but not in the way it has been done.”
According to the figures furnished to Dep O’Mahony following a Dáil question there has been €444,935.05 spent by the Office of Public Works on renting offices for the Road Safety Authority in Ballina, another €154,602.00 on renting a temporary decentralised office in Claremorris, and another €326,368.50 spent on the rent of two offices in Tubbercurry, Co Sligo, for the Department of Community, Rural, and Gaeltacht Affairs which has been earmarked for a permeant home in Charlestown. A total of €771,458.15 spent by the Government in renting properties for Mayo based offices.
The over €750,000 spent on rents instead of putting it into permanent homes for these offices, is dead money that will never been seen again according to the Fine Gael TD. “This is another example of waste, like putting in prefabs in schools rather than bricks and mortar,” he said. “You’re just spending money that you will never see again.” He also pointed out that the Department of Community, Rural, and Gaeltacht Affairs is something the people of Charlestown have been waiting for and will be a major boost to the economy of the east Mayo town. “In cases such as Charlestown sites have been identified to be used for decentralisation and all that needs to be done is for contracts to be signed for commitments already agreed upon to proceed. Instead of doing this though, the Government is content to spend scarce cash on rental.”
This waste of money by the Government is something O’Mahony said he has found to be a major issue while on the canvass trail for the local elections with some of the candidates in Mayo. “I was out canvassing with Cathal Henry last week in Swinford and on every doorstep we went to this kind of issue came up, and it is something people want to see stamped out as young families in the country are stretched financially every day and hundreds of people lie on hospital beds on trolleys.
