Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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The OPW manages a broad and diverse portfolio of over 900,000m²of office space to accommodate the civil service nationally.

Some of this accommodation is provided in historic buildings which may have had an alternative use in the past. For example, Government Buildings in Dublin was originally designed for and occupied by the Royal College of Science. Other buildings are more varied having been designed for an alternative use, such as residential, and then subsequently extended to incorporate purpose-built offices. This can be seen in such properties as 52 St. Stephen’s Green which was built as a townhouse in 1760 but extended two centuries later with a purpose built 1970’s annex which more than quadrupled the internal office space.

At a portfolio level, the OPW does not specifically capture whether a building has been converted into office use from a previous function. However based on information available, the following figures give an indication of the OPW office building stock.

Office accommodation provided for in historic buildings (generally considered pre-1940’s are more likely to have had an alternative function) account for under 20% of the owned building portfolio and less that 1% of the leased portfolio. Of this sub-set, over 95% of these are in Dublin and are mostly in the key state properties of Dublin Castle, Phoenix Park, Marlborough Street, Custom’s House and the Government Buildings and immediate surround.

The OPW’s strategy across this historic estate is to conserve, present, interpret and promote Ireland’s Heritage estate while also accommodating the needs of Government.