Speculation that Irish Water may be permanently moving into office space owned by the Council led to a County Councillor raging that they are looking for an “ivory tower” in Mullingar.
The troubled utility company are currently renting office space in the grounds of the County Buildings from the Council at a rental rate of €2,400 per month.
They are located in the building known as ‘the Governor’s House’ at the County Buildings in Mullingar. It was the former prison governor’s house when there was a jail located on a large part of the site.
Last year a section of this building became an e-working centre, providing office space to offer commuters in the wider Mullingar area an opportunity to work closer to home in an office environment. Another section is leased to a sporting body.
However, the take-up to the e-working centre has been poor and much of the Governor’s House is currently occupied (on a temporary basis) by Irish Water who are trying to obtain permanent offices in Mullingar for their regional headquarters.
Council Head of Finance, Mr. J.P. (James) Dalton, FCA, confirmed the details in a comprehensive report on Property Management for Westmeath County Council presented to their monthly meeting in Mullingar on Monday.
Addressing the Council’s members and the senior officials, led by the Chief Executive, Mr. Pat Gallagher, Cllr. Mick Dollard (Labour) condemned what he described “as the audacity of Irish Water going to look for a regional office. I would have thought that there is a lot of Council office space available in Mullingar. Do Irish Water want to live in an ivory tower? What interaction has taken place between Westmeath County Council and Irish Water on this matter? It isn’t good enough in my view what is going on,” an angry Cllr. Dollard said.
RENT INCREASING
In the Property Management Report, Mr. Dalton had earlier outlined how a number of Council-owned buildings are leased following the completion of Áras an Chontae offices and generate a combined annual rent of e136,000. This rent is to increase by £14,000 from January 2016.
