The Digital Hub campus open to lease extensions for existing tenants and new arrivals

• Certainty provided to existing tenants and new & flexible leases available for extended periods
• Plan ensures most efficient use of space during redevelopment and continued support for tech companies
• Existing community, learning and social programmes to continue in 2022

The Digital Hub Development Agency (DHDA) has agreed with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications that The Digital Hub campus will remain available as a location for digital companies beyond June 2022, pending the redevelopment of the campus by the Land Development Agency over the coming years.

The approach will help ensure the efficient use of the 5.6-acre site as a long-term masterplan for the future use of the DHDA’s lands is developed. It enables the campus to remain open and continue providing a competitive and attractive offering to entrepreneurs and creatives working in Ireland’s tech ecosystem and creative industries, including attracting new tenants.

This forms part of the plan for an orderly winddown following the announcement by the Government in April of plans for the dissolution of the DHDA and the transfer of its assets to the LDA.

The DHDA will also continue its extensive community and social programmes next year alongside its other operations. Projects that this will support include: The D8 Surfers Club (a digital literacy initiative); The Liber8 Music Project (an after-school creative programme); the Future Creators Cadets (an outside school STEAM programme); and Smart D8 (a programme to improve the health and wellbeing of Dublin 8 through collaboration with the local health and tech ecosystem).

The DHDA and LDA have been working together since 2019 and agreed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in 2020 on how to co-operate on plans for redevelopment of the area.

The Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan TD, said:

“The Government remains committed to the regeneration of the Liberties area of Dublin and this arrangement will assist the LDA to deliver a transformative project for the area that is supportive of the Government’s Housing for All strategy. This extension is part of the ongoing plans for an orderly winddown of the DHDA, pending a major redevelopment by the LDA that is envisaged will take a number of years to plan and implement.”

Fiach Mac Conghail, CEO of the Digital Hub Development Agency said:

“I am delighted to announce this extension, which means that we can continue to support our companies and entrepreneurs in developing solutions to solve societal challenges. Our tenant companies have certainty, and we can attract new companies across all sectors to our campus. This is a sensible approach that will ensure space isn’t lying vacant whilst the long-term masterplan for the future of the site is developed.

I’m also pleased to confirm that the community partnerships and social initiatives that provide vital support in areas like digital literacy and creative thinking – particularly for young people and older residents of Dublin 8 – will be continuing next year. I look forward to contributing to the LDA’s masterplan in developing a sustainable and creative urban quarter in the heart of the Liberties.”

ENDS

For further information:

• Doug Keatinge; dkeatinge@murraygroup.ie; 086-0374163

About The Digital Hub

Based in the historic Liberties area of Dublin city centre, The Digital Hub is an enterprise cluster for growing digital media, technology and internet businesses in Ireland, providing a space for indigenous enterprises such as Bizimply, Neuromod, Good Travel Software and Akara Robotics to scale and grow alongside major global companies like Black Shamrock and Lonely Planet.

Since the project’s inception, over 400 companies have progressed through the enterprise cluster at The Digital Hub, generating thousands of skilled jobs. Some well-established alumni include Amazon, Athena Media, Boomerang Pharmaceutical Communications, Distilled Media Group (Daft.ie), eMaint, Etsy, Havok, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (Riverdeep), Kavaleer, Lincor, MTT, patientMpower, Slack, Software AG, Silicon Republic, Square1, Stripe, TIBCO, VSware and Wachsman.

The Digital Hub is a supportive partner of the local community, and runs several learning initiatives for people of all ages in the Liberties and wider Dublin city area. Community learning programmes are supported by local partners. For example, the Future Creators Cadets is delivered by H2 Learning and supported by National College of Art and Design (NCAD) and The Liber8 Music Project is run with BIMM Institute Dublin. The Digital Hub also works with community groups and organisations such as the Robert Emmet Community Development Project and Pocket Forests on a range of initiatives linked to health, wellbeing, sustainability, and biodiversity.

The Digital Hub is one of three lead partners in the Smart D8 initiative which aims to improve and sustain the health and wellbeing of Dublin 8 citizens through innovation and collaboration.

The Digital Hub Development Agency is the Irish state agency that manages The Digital Hub. The Agency was established by the Irish Government under the Department of Communications, Climate Change and Environment.

In April 2021, the Government decided to dissolve the Digital Hub Development Agency and to transfer its properties to the Land Development Agency. The Agency will now embark upon an orderly winddown process which will see the transfer of lands to the Land Development Agency. In order to facilitate this transition, it has been agreed that The Digital Hub campus will remain open and available to clients pending the redevelopment of the site by the LDA.