The GYM never materialised. Parking can be tight. The restaurant closed down and the queue at lunchtime at the park's only shop, Centra, can be "a nightmare". These were some of the comments made when The Irish Times spoke to employees at East Point business park.

There are currently 7,000 people working in the park, many well-paid "techies" - Celtic and international cubs with high expectations. That number will rise to 9,000 when the 11-acre extension is completed next year.

One Kindle employee remarked that the park could be, "more user-friendly. We should have the amenities of a park where there are young people and different nationalities. There is a lot of potential but no one has taken on the challenge. There is only one shop, which is ridiculous when you think that each company here has between 100 and 300 staff."

An Oracle employee said new staff can no longer be guaranteed a parking space. Oracle has four buildings on the campus and staff can avail of an in-house gym.

One Compaq worker said she believed the campus gym promised back in 1997 would be a "huge boon" to the park.

On a more positive note, most of the people we spoke to rated the security at the park highly. There is 24-hour park surveillance, a security guard at the main entrance off Alfie Byrne road and CCTV cameras in operation. Others praised the regular shuttle minibus service to Clontarf Dart station. The tennis court got the thumbs up as did the pond, which one Kindle worker said is "nice to sit by at lunchtime."

Earlsfort Centre Developments says that Crunch Fitness had planned to open a gym in the park but backed out because nearby competition from the Westwood gym in Fairview would make it an unviable proposition. The restaurant run by Delrey Catering closed down after several months in operation, in part due to competition from in-house canteens, but is due to be reopened by Delray as a bar in the spring, says Earlsfort. There is a coffee shop but "no plans" for more cafes or restaurants in the new 11-acre extension.

On the issue of parking, it says the planners outlined that there would be one parking space per 670 sq ft, that is one for every four people in the park. Earlsfort points to its £150,000 contribution to the capital cost of the construction of Clontarf DART station and the shuttle bus that brings an estimated 2,000 employees to and from the DART each day.

Another bugbear of employees at the park is the lack of in-house smoking facilities. Drive through the cobblelocked roads of the campus at any time of the day and you will see young people smoking in huddles outside the doors of most offices.