TD slams 'staggering' €26m to rent Cork's  new passport office for 20 years

A local TD has said it is “staggering” that the State is paying €26m for a 20-year lease on Cork’s planned new passport office, or €1.3m per year for a premises which “we will never own”.

In July, Tánaiste Simon Harris, then the minister for foreign affairs, confirmed that it was intended that a new passport office be fully operational on Albert Quay in Cork by autumn of 2026.

The public-facing passport service is set to move 500m downriver from its existing base at 1A South Mall to a new location at Navigation Square, on a site which was previously proposed for Cork’s long-delayed Event Centre.

At last week’s meeting of the Dáil Public Accounts Committee (PAC), the acting chairman, Séamus McGrath, questioned the value of spending €26m over 20 years rather than simply buy a new premises.

Mr McGrath, Fianna Fáil TD for Cork South Central, was told by the Comptroller and Auditor General, Seamus McCarthy, that the figure of €26m included an annual rent of €600,000, plus service costs, maintenance, fit-out, professional and parking costs over 20 years.

Mr McGrath noted that €600,000 is more than double the rent on the current premises.

ALL OPTIONS

Cathleen Morrison of the Office of Public Works (OPW) told the PAC that “all options” had been considered to replace the existing building, which, she said, was at the end of its life.

Mr McCarthy said the current rent for the South Mall passport office was €290,000 per annum.

Noting “quite a sizeable jump in the annual cost” from €290,000 to €600,000 rent, “with the actual annual cost averaging out at €1.3m, Mr McGrath asked whether there would be “a significant increase in services in Cork as a result”.

Ms Morrison said there would be , and it was her understanding that passport printing facilities would be included in what would be “a fully modern and sustainable building”.

Speaking to The Echo, Mr McGrath said he welcomed the significant investment in the “vital service” of a new passport office for Cork.

“However, I would seriously question why the State did not purchase a building as opposed to spending €26m over a 20-year period for the lease and related costs of a building,” he said.

“To be very honest, I was was not satisfied with the answers I was given by the OPW at last week’s PAC meeting.

“I believe the purchase of a building would give far better value for public money and it would be a long-term asset to the State.

“The decision to opt for a lease was made some time ago, but I believe it is essential to question the decision-making process and to provide scrutiny and accountability on the expenditure of a large amount of public funds.”