By John Burns

Copyright independent

This brings to over €1.5m the total amount the agency has paid in levies for a derelict site on its campus in the Liberties area of Dublin. The money goes to Dublin City Council, which put the site on its vacant register in May 2017, ruling that it could be used for housing.

The levy is imposed at a rate of 7pc of the value of the Watling Street site, which the council puts at €4.5m.

The Digital Hub campus, which has been in place since 2003 and has hosted Amazon and Stripe offices in the past, includes development and investment properties but also derelict industrial sites.

The agency, whose chief executive is Fiach Mac Conghail, has said it does not have the resources to develop the sites on its own, and therefore the level of Vacant Site Levy being imposed is outside its control.

Four years ago, the Government decided to dissolve the agency, and transfer its campus to the Land Development Agency for housing. However, it is understood that the LDA is not planning to use the entire site, because it is not all suitable for development.

“Some of the buildings involved have been vacant for a considerable time, are not easily adaptable for use as affordable housing and need extensive repair and maintenance works,” Paul Holden, the outgoing chairman of the agency, says in its just-published annual report.

“The Department of the Environment has indicated that, as a consequence, the DHDA will continue to operate until at least 2027, and that, in the meantime, it should continue to discharge its statutory responsibilities.”

The Digital Hub says it has 59,141 sq ft of lettable office space, in nine buildings. This includes 7,611 sq ft of event space. Eight of the buildings are occupied by client companies, employing a total of 600 people.

These businesses are leasing 46,735 sq ft of office space, which the DHDA says is an increase of almost 300pc from the start of 2022 when just over 16,000 sq ft of office space was in use.

“The remainder of our properties is currently unsuitable for use as offices. As the DHDA lacks the resources required to develop them, we actively monitor and maintain their condition to prevent deterioration and to ensure public safety,” Mr Holden added.

Since the accounts were finalised, Mr Holden has been succeeded as chair by Darina Kneafsey, a former chief operating officer at Trinity College Dublin.

The agency, which has a staff of 12, said that following the Government announcement in April 2021, legal and professional fees of €12,844 have been incurred in relation to its planned dissolution.

The annual report says its event spaces have been used by drama companies, including the Abbey Theatre, which rehearsed two major productions there, plus the Gaiety, Druid, and This Is Pop Baby. Productions from the Dublin Theatre Festival and Dublin Fringe Festival were hosted there.

Mr Mac Conghail, a former artistic director of the Abbey, had a remuneration package of €134,280 last year, the annual report says.