State-owned Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA) has not paid some of its bills to the company with responsibility for managing public areas in the IFSC and has been threatened with legal action relating to the €50m CHQ retail complex if it does not pay up.

The Sunday Tribune has obtained a copy of the March minutes of CHD Management, which manages the public areas, which state that "legal action will be taken immediately for collection of outstanding amounts".

The DDDA said it expected payments to be made soon.

"All agreed payments have been made or are in the process of being discharged by the CHQ building to CHD Management. All payments will be discharged in the near future," a spokeswoman said in a statement.

It did not answer questions about the size of the outstanding charge or whether some of the charges have been left unpaid for more than a year.

The minutes also state that some of the tenants in CHQ, which is widely regarded as a white elephant, had not paid their rent and that the DDDA told CHD Management it would commence legal action against those tenants in arrears.

"The CHQ building has been impacted by the recession. Some tenants are at various stages in rent arrears. However we are working with them constructively, on an individual basis, to resolve [the problems]. Saying that, the CHQ building is fortunate in that it has an immediate catchment area of over 18,000 people in the IFSC which generate a constant footfall and trade, albeit at a lower level than a year ago. The authority is satisfied with the performance of the CHQ building and looks forward to welcoming additional retailers to the building in the course of the next year," the DDDA said.

Significant parts of CHQ have never been let. A number of tenants have closed their doors since it opened in November 2007. The €50m cost of the centre included professional fees of €10m.

The DDDA hit the headlines earlier this year when it revealed it was no longer paying its interest bill on its loan related to the acquisition of the €412m South Wharf site in Poolbeg, in which the DDDA has a significant stake. It has since resumed paying the interest bill. The site is to be revalued for the authority's next annual report.