Department of Transport

In relation to the leasing of a specific property in Fossa, Co. Kerry, as part of the decentralisation programme, a copy of the lease, the details of all lease payments (including dates), a copy of the initial site suitability assessment, details of initial site selection/ identification and any correspondence from the former Minister John O'Donoghue; for ease of reference it is noted that the property at issue was referred to in a PQ responded to on 26 October 2006, reference 34872/06; the property is referred to locally as the old Rosenbluth call centre, Fossa, and can be identified as Folio KY36120F, Coordinates: 52.072643, -9.603296 or Valuation Office Reference number 570061. The Requester points, as a general reference, to a previous, similar request, dealt with by the Office of the Information Commissioner in Gavin Sheridan and the IDA which concerned the release of lease details from the IDA which was deemed to be in the public interest to release, as referred to in the OIC's annual report: "I take the view that public bodies should be open as to with whom they do business and to whom state monies are paid, and to show that they are ready to be held accountable, if necessary, for those arrangements. My Office ultimately found that the public interest warranted the release of the names at issue". The Requester feels that this is a relevant reference point for his Request