Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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450.To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the status of a building (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter.[35910/24]

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by the Commissioners of Public Works (OPW) that the former Garda station at Dalkey comprises two properties on one site with the main Garda station property on Tubbermore Road and a second property on Sorrento Road.

In accordance with their Disposals Policy, and the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform Circular: Protocols for the Transfer and Sharing of State Property Assets. (DPENDPDR Circular 11/15), the OPW sought alternative State use by offering the property to all relevant State Bodies including Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council.

As none of the State Bodies expressed an interest in acquiring the properties were offered for sale at auction in June 2024 as two separate lots.

The Sorrento Road property went sale agreed with the highest bidder at auction and the sale closed on the 4^thSeptember 2024.

There were no bids at auction for the Tubbermore Road property and, subsequent to the auction, a number of private treaty bids were received and the highest offer has been accepted by the OPW.

Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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451.To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the status of a building (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter.[35911/24]

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I am advised by the Commissioners of Public Works that ownership of the former Garda station property at Kill O’ the Grange transferred to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council on the 28^thof May 2024. Therefore, the maintenance and upkeep of the property is a matter for the council.

Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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452.To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will examine establishing a programme to refit empty Garda stations and repurpose them as affordable accommodation for essential workers; and if he will make a statement on the matter.[35912/24]

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Office of Public Works (OPW) has responsibility on behalf of the State for managing and maintaining a substantial and complex estate of approximately 2,500 properties.

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.

The provision of suitable accommodation for essential workers does not fall within the remit of the OPW as the responsibility for housing rests with the local authorities and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

However, the OPW has actively engaged with other State agencies and provided a list of its surplus vacant properties to the Land Development Agency, each relevant local authority, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, so that they could assess them for suitability for housing or humanitarian purposes or for other State use.

Many of the vacant properties in the OPW portfolio were deemed unsuitable for residential use following assessment by the various agencies because they are older stock that would require significant investment to comply with current regulations for residential use, or are located in rural areas without the necessary services and supports.

The OPW has in the past five years transferred over 50 properties to local authorities for alternative State/community use.