IDA pays out €1.2m a year to Galway landlords for empty factories

Date Published: 23-Mar-2011

Six well-known business people – including a NAMA developer – are among the Galway landlords who received almost €1.2 million in rent from the IDA during 2010 for vacant industrial units, according to figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.

In fact, of the €7.6 million paid out by the IDA last year for all their rented units around Ireland (occupied and vacant), the Galway business people benefitted to the tune of more than €2.35 million – around one-third of the total lease payments.

One of the landlords – who earned almost €127,000 last year – is Paddy Sweeney from Loughrea, one of the country’s biggest developers, whose loans have been transferred to the National Asset Management Agency.

All of the IDA leases were signed for a period of 35 years and were put in place in the early 1980s.

In total, there were 73 leases nationally between the IDA and private landlords in place in 2010 – and fifteen of these are with Galway business people.

The document released under the Freedom of Information Act to thestory.ie – a website dedicated to transparency in the public sector – details the addresses of all the units, the lease commencement date, the name of the landlord company and whether or not the premises is occupied.

The IDA, however, did not provide details on what rent was paid to them by any eventual tenants of these units, or who ultimately are the beneficial owners of the landlord companies.

Of the €2.35m paid to Galway companies in 2010, almost €1.2m was for vacant units.

See who are landlords are in this week’s Connacht Tribune.