THE government could be paying almost four times the going rate for office space in Carlow town. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment premises on the O’Brien Road is costing the taxpayer a staggering €370,000 a year in rent.

The 20-year lease signed on the property represents a total expense of more than €7.3 million.

However, the true cost is likely to be higher as the Office of Public Works (OPW) previously negotiated a “significant reduction” in rent. One auctioneer contacted by The Nationalist said that in today’s market, the property was worth €100,000 a year. He was amazed at the fee being paid. “That is a nice rent!”

A second auctioneer said that even applying a valuation at the very top end of the market, the property would be worth €230,000 a year.

The lease is managed by the OPW and it began in July 2007. The premises initially housed staff moving to Carlow during the initial phases of decentralisation.

An OPW spokesperson said: “It was envisaged that further staff would be decentralised in due course and therefore a larger building would ultimately be needed, probably on a green-field site.

When the decentralisation programme was subsequently halted and it became apparent that no further staff would be relocated, it was decided to retain the lease. Subsequent negotiations with the landlord achieved a significant reduction in rent and valuable changes to certain lease terms.”