Minister Hayes - Using State Property to Help Business Start-Ups

Minister of State Brian Hayes, TD, Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, with special responsibility for the Office of Public Works (OPW) today welcomed the opening of a new venture, iCompany and wished the company well with its start-up jobs initiative.

iCompany is a not for profit company that approached the OPW to enquire about the availability of accommodation which could be made available to them. A State owned building - 59 Dawson Street in Dublin had recently become vacant and as a new occupant had not been identified, it was decided to facilitate the venture through the use of the building on a pilot basis.

The Minister said today, "This building was identified as being suitable for this start-up as it was centrally located and flexible for their needs. We were delighted to offer the building on a care and maintenance basis to iCompany for a limited period of one year. As well as assisting their very worthy endeavours, this initiative with iCompany allows the OPW to retain a strategic building without any overheads in terms of maintenance and security costs associated with vacant properties."

The Minister concluded, "In the current climate it certainly behoves the State to facilitate and assist, where possible, those entrepreneurs who can foster and create employment opportunities. I applaud iCompany's initiative and wish them well in the future. It also demonstrates the willingness of the public sector, in this instance, the OPW, to engage in real and innovative measures to offer a solution to the many challenges faced by new businesses in Ireland today."

Source: OPW - Minister Hayes - Using State Property to Help Business Start-Ups

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