asked the Minister for Fisheries and Forestry the total cost to the State of the rental by Bord Iascaigh Mhara of unoccupied offices at Crofton Road, Dún Laoghaire, County Dublin.

19.

(Cavan-Monaghan) asked the Minister for Fisheries and Forestry the steps Bord Iascaigh Mhara have taken to dispose of their interest in premises in Dún Laoghaire, County Dublin; and the present position regarding this matter.

With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 18 and 19 together.

The current annual rent, exclusive of rates which have not yet been assessed, of the Dún Laoghaire premises is £290,000, subject to a five-year rent review. Minimum maintenance costs, when added to the rent, bring the total outlay to approximately £304,000 per annum.

An Bord Iascaigh Mhara have placed the disposal of the premises with two letting agents. The agents have so far been unable to sub-lease the property.

In addition, my Department, in consultation with the Department of Finance, are exploring the possibility of the premises being utilised by other semi-State bodies.

(Cavan-Monaghan): Would the Minister agree that the original decision to build these offices or commission their building and to move An Bord Iascaigh Mhara there was an extremely foolish and ill-conceived idea?

On the contrary, I would not agree at all that it was either foolish or ill-conceived. When this matter was brought to my attention as soon as I took up office, I asked An Board Iascaigh Mhara to have a review of the situation in the light of the board's and others' apparent failure to let the premises. In view of the concern which I expressed, the board are at present reviewing the situation.

(Cavan-Monaghan): Is it not a fact that there is not alone the fact that the rent and rates are costing nearly £½ million a year but that it is extremely inconvenient for fishermen who have to avail of these offices? Is it also not a fact that the staff are very strongly resisting their removal out there and, if they did move, that the cost of compensating them would be very considerable?

One must look at this in the overall context of what was proposed at that time. The view put forward at that time, which was carefully measured and assessed in the interests of An Bord Iascaigh Mhara, was to have the board's staff all housed under the one roof. At present that is not the situation. It was also decided to provide further accommodation for the board because they are at present very short of accommodation. The overall intention, which was a good one, was to house the entire staff in the one area and to provide for expanding accommodation requirements in an ideal location such as Dún Laoghaire, right at the harbour. It was a very worthwhile project and one which merits further consideration at this stage.

(Cavan-Monaghan): Is it not a fact that all concerned with An Bord Iascaigh Mhara and the Department of Fisheries and Forestry, with the exception of my predecessor, the present Minister for Agriculture, were against the idea of moving out there, but that they were under pressure and fell for this crazy scheme which was initiated by the chief executive of An Bord Iascaigh Mhara?

If the Deputy wishes to refer to this as a crazy scheme he is entitled to do so, but I do not accept that. I do not accept that everybody was opposed to the proposed move to Dún Laoghaire. There will always be a certain amount of resistance to staff moving and part of this resistance is met by the allowance or whatever that may be paid. These issues can be considered in the general review which I have asked the board to undertake. My idea now is to provide BIM with the accommodation required and to get all the staff under one roof. The ideal location for the headquarters is Dún Laoghaire which is an attractive location by any standards. I can see merit in staff being anxious to move to that centre rather than opposing it.

(Cavan-Monaghan): Will the Minister see to it that this crazy idea is stopped once and for all?.

Question Time has concluded. The remaining questions will appear on next Tuesday's Order Paper.