Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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180. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of vacant and derelict buildings respectively by county in the ownership of An Garda Síochána. [54056/22]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by the Commissioners of Public Works that the Office of Public Works manages a property portfolio in excess of 2,500 properties ranging from heritage buildings, commercial office blocks, green field sites, warehouses, Coast Guard Stations and Garda Stations. As would be the norm in such a large portfolio, at any given time, there will be a number of properties being refurbished or vacant. The State will always retain a number of vacant properties for future use.

Under the 2012/2013 Policing Plans of An Garda Síochána, 139 stations were identified as surplus to An Garda Síochána’s requirements and reverted to the Office of Public Works to identify an alternative State use or manage their disposal. These properties are not in the ownership of An Garda Síochána. In 2016, following a review by An Garda Síochána and the Policing Authority, six stations were identified for re-opening.

Of the 139 Garda stations that were closed under the 2013/2013 policing plans 32 remain, of which 6 will be presented for sale at public auction during February 2023. A further 6 will be transferred to local authorities and 1 is sale agreed. In addition, the OPW is in the process of leasing three of the former Garda stations closed under the 2012/2013 policing plans to Local Authorities for community use.

A further 7 former Garda Stations and 5 former Garda Residences, which did not close as part of the 2012/2013 Policing Plan, have reverted to the OPW to identify an alternative State use or manage their disposal.

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.

In a case where the OPW does not need to retain a property, and has deemed it surplus to requirements, the office follows a strict procedure. The OPW's Disposal Policy (consistent with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform circulars on disposals of properties) with regard to vacant State property, is to:

1.Identify if the property is required/suitable for alternative State use by either Government Departments, Local Authorities or the wider public sector.

2.If there is no other State use identified for a property, the OPW will then consider disposing of it on the open market if and when conditions prevail, in order to generate revenue for the Exchequer.

3.If no State requirement is identified or if a decision is taken not to dispose of a particular property, the OPW may consider community involvement (subject to detailed written submission, which would indicate that the community/voluntary group has the means to insure, maintain and manage the property and that there are no ongoing costs for the Exchequer).

When a property is deemed surplus to the requirements of the Commissioners, the OPW therefore notifies all relevant stakeholders as part of the disposal policy. This includes notifying the Land Development Agency and the relevant local authorities who may be interested in acquiring the property for housing purposes.

Both the Dept. of Housing, The Dept. of Children and all relevant Local Authorities have been briefed on all vacant properties on a number of occasions so that they can determine whether they need these properties for housing or other accommodation purposes.

A list of the current vacant Garda stations and residence with an indication of their status and future plans is attached at Schedule A.

The OPW is not in a position to provide data on any vacant buildings that may be held by other State bodies or assigned to An Garda Síochána for operational use.

There are no derelict properties.