Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail)
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Ar dtús, bhí an tAire Stáit anseo inné agus cuirim fáilte roimhe arís inniu. I wish to thank him for all his work on another big problem we have in our part of the country. I am not going to delay this. Basically, I am passing on a request from the community of Ballymoe in County Galway. It is a village that nestles right beside the River Suck. The Minister of State has probably heard of the Suck Valley Way, in which the Government has invested quite a lot of money in conjunction with the local community. The old Garda station there is being requested by the local community. I have had some discussion with the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Deputy Humphreys, on this issue. I am aware that the Government is anxious to take action in this regard. Indeed, I compliment the OPW here as well. There is a need for this proposition. The community wants to use this building as a hub, not for one specific group but for all. Such a requirement would be acceded to.

There is quite a lot of activity in Ballymoe by community groups. While they have a fine community centre, this would be a hub for those walking in the area or for other community things that need to be looked after. It is not a matter of speaking for four minutes about it; it is a simple request. We should try to engage with the people to ensure, if at all possible, that it would be handed over to the community. I assure the Minister of State that it is a community that has succeeded with many projects in the past. They are great community workers and volunteers. I know they have been very thankful for all the support they have got from the Government in recent years. I wish to see that funding and co-operation continue. I leave it in the capable hands of the Minister of State to see what he might be able to do for us.

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Murphy for raising this important matter today. By way of background, the Office of Public Works has responsibility on behalf of the State for managing and maintaining a substantial complex estate of approximately 2,500 properties nationally. This extensive and diverse portfolio of State properties includes office accommodation for all Government Departments, the property estate for An Garda Síochána and numerous properties for many State agencies. The portfolio also encompasses specialised spaces such as public offices, laboratories and cultural institutions, in addition to warehouses, heritage properties, visitor centres and sites. In any major portfolio, there will always be a certain level of surplus vacant or non-operational properties. It is normal to have an amount of space vacant or vacant properties at any given time as the portfolio could not function without the flexibility that this provides. Not all vacant properties will be deemed surplus to the State’s requirements or suitable for disposal.

The OPW, like other State bodies, is obliged to follow central government policies on the disposal of surplus properties. The arrangements involved are set out in the following Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform Circulars: circular 11/15 on the protocols for the transfer and sharing of State property assets; and Circular 17/16 on the policy for property acquisition and for disposal of surplus property. As a matter of policy, no property is disposed of until there is absolute certainty that there is no alternative State use for that property. The OPW’s approach to managing vacant, surplus properties is firstly to establish if the property is required for alternative State use, including the potential for it to be repurposed for Government Departments or the wider public service. A number of strategic properties are retained in anticipation of potential State use or development in line with service demands arising from Government policy changes to public service provision. Second, if no State use is identified, the OPW considers whether open market disposal is an option, depending on prevailing market conditions. Third, the OPW may consider community involvement, subject to a detailed submission that demonstrates that the community or voluntary group seeking to use the property has the means to insure, maintain and manage it in order to reduce cost to the Exchequer. In line with the above policy, the OPW has provided a list of its surplus vacant properties, including former Garda station properties, to the Land Development Agency, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, and the relevant local authorities so that they can assess them for suitability for social or humanitarian housing purposes or for other State use. In addition, there are a limited number of sundry residential dwellings that are intrinsic to the estates of parks and gardens as part of the national historic properties managed by the OPW. For that reason, they would not be appropriate for disposal. In general, these properties are allocated to staff in specific posts, such as park superintendents, deer keepers, etc., where there is a requirement for them to be present on the ground.

The former Garda station at Ballymoe, County Galway, is owned by the Commissioners of Public Works, CPW, under folio GY16170. As part of An Garda Síochána’s 2013 rationalisation programme, the former Garda station at Ballymoe closed in January of that year. The former Garda station is a single-storey detached one-person unit that is situated on the outskirts of Ballymoe village on a site measuring approximately one quarter of an acre. The property comprises a public office, a waiting area, a toilet, a lobby and a kitchenette. There is off-street parking and a garden to the side and rear. The property is in reasonable condition, but would require some refurbishment and external maintenance.

In line with the aforementioned Government policies on the disposal of surplus properties, the OPW has sought alternative State use, including offering the property to Galway County Council. To date, no State requirement has been identified.

The OPW engaged with three different but related community groups about a possible licence for this property. While the groups lodged applications for a licence, they have to date been unable to demonstrate definitively how they propose to use the property and how they would fund any development and continued maintenance of the property. The groups have been afforded a number of opportunities to address the OPW’s questions.

This property was previously prepared for disposal but this was put on hold in order to allow for the community-use applications to be considered. In 2023, the OPW advised the groups that as they had not provided sufficient information to the OPW, the property would again be prepared for disposal. The property is currently being prepared for disposal by public auction and is expected to be put on the market during the second half of this year.

If the Senator has more information that community groups can forward then that is something that the OPW will consider. I have given the up-to-date position on the basis of the OPW's files. More detail is required in order that we might follow up and see if there is something there for the community.

Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail)
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The Minister of State has given a very comprehensive answer. As he stated, there has been engagement and the community has been given an opportunity. I would say to the community now that if they are interested in the property then they should contact me and the OPW to see if we can resolve the issue. I acknowledge that the OPW has tried to facilitate the local community, and I thank the Minister of State for his reply.

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for his comments. As stated, there has been engagement . We would like the community groups to come forward with more details on how they propose to use the building, and how they would fund any development and continued maintenance of the property. I ask that they contact our offices immediately in order that we can consider the matter again. The OPW wants assets to be used by community groups. Obviously, in terms of looking as this matter holistically from the point of view of the Exchequer, the process and so forth, there are certain criteria that we need to work through. We will wait for the community groups to come back to us.