Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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103. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the status of his plans in response to a spending review (details supplied) published by his Department; his views on whether the findings of the review would enable staff to avoid travel to and from the city centre on a daily basis and if there would be consequential savings in a reduced leasehold portfolios in the city centre; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48280/22]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will have heard my reply to PQ48285, and the reply contains much of the same information.

The OPW has a significant and diverse office accommodation portfolio distributed throughout the country, comprising of 890,488 square meters at year end 2021, and including a range of differing types of office provision, from prestige heritage buildings to brand new grade A office accommodation.

The issue of whether to buy, build or lease properties is a complex one and is subject to various factors, including: the availability of capital funding; the availability of suitable buildings or sites; the prevailing market conditions at the time; the urgency and scale attached to the accommodation request, and the duration of the requirement.

Due to the range of accommodation requirements across Government, there is a variety of solutions depending on the circumstances and it is important to keep a dynamic portfolio that has flexibility to meet the evolving long term needs of Government.

The OPW’s preference is that functions of infrastructural importance or viewed as a long-term commitment should, where possible, be accommodated in State-owned properties. This would include headquarters for central Government Departments, State security services, etc.

The overall conclusion that can be drawn from the recently published Spending Review Paper is that, when the State is acquiring significant property for office accommodation, the new build or purchase options should be considered on a case by case basis in accordance with the parameters of the Public Spending Code, particularly if there is a long-term requirement, subject always to the prevailing market conditions and available funding.

To meet its strategic objectives of modernising the estate and making it more efficient, OPW constantly look to appraise the potential of the existing Owned state accommodation portfolio for future redevelopment of sites, refurbishment opportunities and potential asset recycling prospects. This is done in parallel and in conjunction with ongoing appraisal, monitoring and managing of opportunities which arise from within the Leasehold Estate. The extensive research undertaken for the Review provides the OPW with an important evidence base on which to ground decisions on the overall development of the portfolio into the future.

Under the National Development Plan (2021 – 2030), the OPW has been successful in securing funding for a broad range of projects, which includes a number of office developments that will further enhance the balance of leased and owned accommodation. One of the major capital projects that is being funded by the EU within Ireland’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), is the deep energy retrofit of the state owned Tom Johnson House in Dublin 4, which will reduce the buildings primary energy use by 75% and become the new headquarters of the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications. OPW will continue to appraise development and redevelopment opportunities on existing state owned sites with a view to seeking additional funding for investments that will meet the operational needs of client departments and agencies in modern energy efficient buildings.

In addition to this, the OPW have an ongoing programme of fabric upgrades and energy efficiency retrofit projects in central government buildings to enhance the overall condition and performance of our buildings. This will ensure the enhanced performance of existing buildings and avoid the need to replace these buildings through the commercial office market.

The Blended Working Policy Framework for the Civil Service was published in March 2022, and Departments and Agencies are currently in the process of finalising their Departmental Blended Working Policies. Inevitably, the decisions currently being formulated across each Department and Agency on patterns of attendance in the office will have a direct impact on how the physical office space will be utilised into the future. The Chairman of the OPW has recently written to all Secretary Generals across Government asking them to consider the use of their existing accommodation in the context of long term Blended Working. Departments are being asked to account for the full optimisation of existing accommodation in the context of their Blended Working policies.

Lastly, the Spending review paper notes the opportunity to acquire properties at a lower rent in locations outside of the Central Business District. Each property acquisition is looked at on a case by case basis, and in the context of the business needs of each Client Department. If the Client Department has confirmed that it is feasible to locate the accommodation requirement outside of the Central Business District, OPW will examine this opportunity and assess available properties in the context of the Public Spending Code.

In conclusion, the Spending Review paper provides an evidence base for long term decision making on the future direction of the office accommodation portfolio. Every requirement will continue to be assessed on a case by case basis in the context of the business needs of client departments, the urgency and scale attached to the accommodation request, the overarching OPW Estate Strategy, the duration of the requirement, and the availability of capital funding.