Strategic review of the Digital Hub Development Agency

MadsL

The Digital Hub Development Agency took a bath of some €39 million in an ill-advised property (ahem) deal with a bankrupt developer leading to a loss of some €41m in 2010. They finally got a Govt grant of €200k this year to put roofs on some of the protected structures that they own and have allowed to rot but have not spent a penny of previous years profits on maintaining despite having Dublin's city manager on the board.

Seanie Fitz's sister chaired the agency for many years. http://www.thedigitalhub.com/digital_hub/board_joyce.php as well as the Dublin Inner City Partnership which had it's funding stopped after audit irregularities.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0415/1224268368026.html


As this agency is being funded to the tune of €2.5m a year to effectively be the landlords and collect the rent of start-ups, what should the strategic review of the DHDA announced by Pat Rabitte do with this agency. Is there any value to the country of this agency? The property mismanagement as been truly appalling, yet the same old faces keep cashing the paycheck.

Phillip Flynn earns some €187,000 as CEO, there are further board member fees of €39k down from €79k in 2009. As far as I can see there is only the chair who should have some expenses, the rest of the current board are public servants and one token community rep. http://www.thedigitalhub.com/digital_hub/board.php

Thoughts people?

thebman

So you mean we have national assets in the way of property and this is like some sort of agency managing them.

I thought we already had one of those.

Off with its head!! :P

MadsL

thebman wrote: »

So you mean we have national assets in the way of property and this is like some sort of agency managing them.

Would you like to meet some? - here's a few examples;


Dublin - Crane Street Corner Thomas Street by Le Monde1, on Flickr



Dublin - Crane Street View by Le Monde1, on Flickr





Now grant aid has meant it was possible to at least get these watertight, but this agency has been landbanking, neglecting their property responsibilities and farting about with developers for years whilst these historic, protected properties literally fall into the street. Now we find they made a €39m loss that the taxpayer has to pick up. :mad: Off with it's head indeed.

thebman

Why is it called Digital Hub Development Agency, seems like it is a property bank to me.

Scofflaw

thebman wrote: »

Why is it called Digital Hub Development Agency, seems like it is a property bank to me.

The idea was that the agency would create:

an international centre of excellence for knowledge, innovation and creativity focused on digital content and technology enterprises.

The core development of nine acres is located a ten minute walk from the city centre within the historic Liberties area of Ireland’s capital city, Dublin. Over the next decade, this initiative will create a mixed-use development, consisting of enterprise, residential, retail, learning and civic space

Presumably, to achieve this involved buying property...as Celtic Tiger government agencies generally seem to have done.

cordially,
Scofflaw

Sponge Bob

Scofflaw wrote: »

Presumably, to achieve this involved buying property...as Celtic Tiger government agencies generally seem to have done.

cordially,
Scofflaw

Then there is (or maybe was) the closely associated forum called the Digital Media Forum set up by yer man Neil Leyden who won a scad of money in that Your Country Your Call competition for an original idea that someone else originally developed.

I'm surprised that never made the news.

Sponge Bob

Scofflaw wrote: »

Presumably, to achieve this involved buying property...as Celtic Tiger government agencies generally seem to have done.

cordially,
Scofflaw

Then there is (or maybe was) the closely associated forum called the Digital Media Forum set up by yer man Neil Leyden who won a scad of money in that Your Country Your Call competition for an 'original' idea that someone else originally developed.

SouperComputer

there's been a few legit companies/projects in the digital hub. Boulder Media being one example... They moved out of the Digital Hub back in '06 or '07 though from what I recall http://www.bouldermedia.tv/about.html

MadsL

there's been a few legit companies/projects in the digital hub. Boulder Media being one example... They moved out of the Digital Hub back in '06 or '07 though from what I recall http://www.bouldermedia.tv/about.html

Digital Hub Development Agency being purely the Landlords. Rents were about market rate if not higher. But yes some good companies started there, but I'd say that success was nothing to do with the existance of the DHDA.

MadsL

Then there is (or maybe was) the closely associated forum called the Digital Media Forum set up by yer man Neil Leyden who won a scad of money in that Your Country Your Call competition for an original idea that someone else originally developed.

I'm surprised that never made the news.

It's absolutely thriving :rolleyes:

http://www.contentcentre.org/

Can we get a refund?

MadsL

Bold's mine below

Pat Rabbitte, Minister, Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources wrote:

As the Deputy will be aware the Public Service Reform announcement made on 17 November last by my colleague the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, envisaged inter alia that as part of the rationalisation of State agencies the Digital Hub Development Agency (DHDA) would be merged by the end of this year with either Enterprise Ireland (EI) or the IDA. As the Deputy is aware such a merger was proposed in the July 2009 McCarthy Report on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes. The rationale for such a merger is potential savings through streamlining relevant administrative and programme activity in the Agencies concerned.

Discussions with relevant stakeholders, including DHDA, IDA and EI will be advanced urgently in the context of the announcement on 17 November last. This process will take account of a Strategic Review of the Digital Hub which was completed by my Department recently aimed at informing decisions on the most appropriate long-term future for the agency.
I am conscious of the valuable role which the DHDA is playing in the digital media sector and in promoting employment.

At end 2011 there were 70 companies based at the Digital Hub employing approximately 800 people. I recognise the importance of these enterprises in the context of certain Government policy of promoting digital based employment. Any new Governance arrangements for the activities currently discharged by the Digital Hub will ensure that this contribution is protected and maintained.

The purpose of the agency is we assume to set the conditions for employment, and operate as a cost-neutral agency. As far as employment growth is concerned they achieved unspectacular things in the past 5 years.
In 2006 there were 500 employees at the Hub, in 2007 - 740, In 2008 - 857 people, 2009 - 840, 2011 - 800. Overall the Digital Hub estimates some 2000 jobs 'created' since 2003.

However, they continue to receive central funding of 3.4m euro a year (2011) and charge fully commercial rates for rents. Despite this lifeline of 3m a year the staff of DHDA have managed to hemorrage taxpayers money - a loss of 2,7m euro in 2009 and a loss of almost 42m in 2010.

Despite the proposed merge with more successful job-creation agencies, like the IDA or EI, it would appear that the Minister appears to want to keep operations as 'normal' and the Digital Hub bleeding away on life-support. I'll be deeply interested to know if Mr Flynn keeps his €187,000 a year as CEO.

Reading back through the press releases, it is astonishing the amount of spin put out with regard to what amounts to no more than letting agency. :mad:

MadsL

This.

The Digital Hub Development Authority will no longer be reporting to the Department of Communications and will instead report directly to Dublin City Council, which has plans to develop Dublin as a hub for digital and green enterprises.

http://www.siliconrepublic.com/business/item/29993-dublin-city-council-to-take

A dreadful idea. Dublin City Council are utterly clueless when it comes to urban regeneration, and were the main reason that agencies such as Temple Bar, Docklands Development and the Digital Hub were set up in the first place.

Meantime DCC have overseen the following disastrous regeneration projects;
Smithfield
The Liffey Boardwalk
The 'kiosks' on Gratten Bridge
The debacle of the failed regeneration of housing projects at St. Michael's Estate, O'Devaney Gardens, Dominic Street, Seán McDermott Street and Infirmary Road
The stalled Liberties Area plan
Priory Hall
The huge Moore St debacle and allegations of corruption.

Not only that, but they oversaw some of the very worst kinds of nonsense being granted planing permission and overturned by ABP. At one point DCC thought it a good idea to grant permission for a upside-down L shaped building to overhang the quays and the liffey.

Now with the rehiring of a failed manager back as assistant city manager, DCC is set to tackle the ailing Digital Hub.

I seriously, seriously facepalmed. What a farce.

Sponge Bob

MadsL wrote: »

This.
http://www.siliconrepublic.com/business/item/29993-dublin-city-council-to-take
A dreadful idea. Dublin City Council are utterly clueless when it comes to urban regeneration

Not at all, sure Dublin has not one but TWO Calatrava bridges, hardly a failure then.

MadsL

Sponge Bob wrote: »

Not at all, sure Dublin has not one but TWO Calatrava bridges, hardly a failure then.

Completely failed to get a Anthony Gormley sculpture of a bloke pissing in the Liffey built though. Seemed to be important at one time.

Gumbo

MadsL wrote: »

Completely failed to get a Anthony Gormley sculpture of a bloke pissing in the Liffey built though. Seemed to be important at one time.

Thank God, its hideous!

MadsL

Just to bump this thread a little.

So, 2013 almost gone, no annual report yet published for 2012 from the Digital Hub. Silicon Republic, an 11 year old tech compnay moving INTO the Digital Hub in a complete reversal of the the stated aims. An interim CEO with no executive leadership experience, and a 'boss' of either DCC or the Department of Enterprise.

Is it still hemorrhaging cash? No idea, as we are yet to see the accounts.

Time to shut up shop?