Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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576. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the number of vacant desk spaces available in accommodation allocated to his Department in Civil Service accommodation outside Dublin city; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46297/19]

Eoghan Murphy (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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The civil service accommodation facilities allocated to my Department outside of Dublin are situated at office locations in Wexford, Ballina and Cork. In addition, Met Eireann, a division of my Department, has weather stations located throughout the country.

My Department is the lead tenant at Government Offices, Ballina and Carricklawn, Wexford with responsibility for coordinating engagement with the Office of Public Works (OPW) in respect of the day to day management of accommodation in these buildings, where a number of Government Departments are located. It should be noted that accommodation allocations are not fixed in each location and can change due to changing Government priorities and transfers of functions.

Currently, there are 19 desks available to my Department in Wexford and 11 in Ballina. My Department also has a small number of staff in Cork, where the accommodation is managed directly by the OPW and there are currently five desks available there. In addition, Met Eireann has one spare desk at its Belmullet Weather Station and three in its Malin Head weather station.

Given the significant business priorities to be met by my Department, these levels are likely to reduce in the future as additional resources are deployed to deliver key priorities as part of ongoing work force planning.