Committee Reports > List of Committees > Dáil > 1986 > Committee on Public Expenditure > Report No. 17 - Proposed Department of Defence/Army Headquarters

Appendix IV

DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE DATA

The Department of Finance indicated in evidence to the Committee that the total cost of the project would be of the order of £22m, £14.7m of which was the estimated cost of the building project. Fitting out and furnishings were estimated at £2.9m and the balance of £4.4m provided for fees inflation and temporary accommodation.

The Department of Finance also submitted on the basis of earlier studies that the building a new office complex was shown to be more cost effective than either leasing or deferring a decision.

This exercise undertaken in 1978 was based on estimated capital cost of the project including fees of £5.35m and assumed 7% inflation on indexed rental starting at 3.50 per square foot and annual maintenance cost of 60,000 which was just over 90% of the then maintenance costs of the Department.

The exercise also assumed a 1% saving on staff time and a staff saving of 10 arising from centralisation and gave these savings a value in 1978 terms of £69,000.

On the basis of this exercise containing these assumptions the recommendation of the Department of Finance was of course in favour of building over renting and in favour of proceeding immediately.