Public administration and defence is Dublin’s fastest growing sector of employment, with 4,900 new jobs created in the last year – an annual increase of 14.7%. According to the latest report from property advisor Savills Ireland, this has driven strong growth in public-sector office take-up.
Public administration and defence is Dublin’s fastest growing sector of employment, with 4,900 new jobs created in the last year – an annual increase of 14.7%. According to the latest report from property advisor Savills Ireland, this has driven strong growth in public-sector office take-up.
Dr. John McCartney, Director of Research at Savills Ireland and author of the report said;
“The impact of the public sector on Dublin’s office market has gone relatively unnoticed, with some spectacularly large deals in the ICT sector overshadowing its significance. However, since 2012, take-up of office space by public sector bodies has risen by over 1,000%, which reflects significant jobs growth in the sector – particularly since 2015, when the recruitment embargo was lifted.”
According to the report, the average office employee in Dublin now occupies 10.3 sq m of space, meaning that the 4,900 new jobs in public administration should translate into a requirement for approximately 50,000 sq m of additional business space.
Andrew Cunningham, Director and Head of Offices at Savills Ireland said;
“While jobs growth has contributed to increased public sector take-up, this also reflects the Government’s proactive approach to modernising and improving the quality of its business space portfolio to promote productivity and environmental objectives. Recent examples of this include moves by the Department of Health from Hawkins House – which was built in 1965 – to the newly refurbished Miesian Plaza, and the NTMA from the Treasury Building to No. 1 Dublin Landings.”
There were several large office lettings to the public sector in Q1 2019. Tailte Éireann – the name of the Government body to be formed by the merger of the Property Registration Authority, Ordnance Survey Ireland and the Valuation Office – pre-let 16,722 sqm of space at The Distillers Building in Smithfield.
Elsewhere, the Central Bank of Ireland has agreed to acquire Blocks 4 & 5, Dublin Landings – currently under development by Ballymore.