QUESTIONS LOOM LARGE over the sale of Baggot Street Hospital in Dublin as the HSE is urged to clarify whether it offered the property to the relevant agencies for housing purposes.

It was announced last week that the HSE was putting the building up for sale.

The HSE said in a statement that no state agencies showed any interest in taking it on.

The Journal can now confirm that no S53 Notice was issued to the Land Development Agency (LDA) in respect of the hospital.

Under Section 53 of the LDA Act, a relevant public body (such as the HSE) shall not dispose of relevant public land unless the body has given notice and offered the land for sale to the LDA first.

On the LDA website it explains that this requirement is to ensure that any relevant public land being disposed of is assessed to see if it is fit for use for the purposes of the LDA Act, primarily the provision of affordable and social housing.

No notice issued before property listed for sale

In a statement to The Journal regarding property, the LDA said:

“While there is regular engagement with the HSE and informal engagements regarding a range of properties, no S53 Notice has issued yet to the LDA in respect of the Hospital.”

The statement went on to say that the LDA is aware that the HSE “is looking at this”. It said other properties are being considered for potential reuse or disposal.

“The LDA and HSE are engaging regarding the S53 process,” said the statement.

The LDA said there is ongoing engagement between the HSE and the Department of Health regarding other relevant public lands and their potential for development for housing as part of the Housing for All working group.

It said the HSE has also been working collaboratively with the LDA in support of the LDA’s mandate to develop a report on relevant public land, and several sites are being progressed for housing currently.

The comment from the LDA comes after The Journal asked the HSE if it had approached the Department of Housing about taking over the building.

The HSE responded, saying that it followed protocol by putting it forward, in the first instance, for acquisition by other State entities, but that none had shown interest.

Department of Housing not offered property

The Journal later informed the HSE that the Department of Housing disputed that it was ever offered the opportunity for the building to be used for housing.

A housing department spokesperson said:

This department has not been offered the Baggot St. Building for housing purposes.

Local Dublin Bay South TD James Geoghegan, who raised the matter with the Taoiseach yesterday, told The Journal today that “it’s extremely disappointing that there’s confusion during an active sales process for such an iconic building on Baggot Street”.

“It’s unclear if the HSE ever engaged with the LDA or the Department of Housing to see if housing was possible here,” Geoghegan said.

He went on state that the building has been left vacant and derelict for over five years under the HSE’s ownership.

“Now state agencies are contradicting each other about who engaged with who. We need absolute clarity from the HSE, and we need it quickly,” he said.

The historic building which dates back to 1831 has been lying vacant since 2019, when the HSE ceased its operations there.

A Dublin City Council inspection report on the property in 2022 states the building was put up for sale in 2015, with a guide price of €15 million, but it failed to sell.

The report states that estimated renovation works at the time, to bring the property into use for Temporary Emergency Accommodation under an EU fund for Ukrainians, was over €17.5 million.

The Irish Times commercial property section reports today that current guide price is €5.5 million and the property is “expected to see strong interest from a wide range of parties, including hoteliers and developers of high-end residential accommodation”.

The Journal has repeatedly asked the HSE for comment on the matter in recent days, including today.