Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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479. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to list the buildings occupied or vacant or land in Dublin 8, 10 or 12 which his Department or the HSE owns or is leasing, and have been identified as surplus to requirements now or in the near future or that are underutilised; the plans for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11779/25]

Kevin Moran (Longford-Westmeath, Independent)
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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.

In any major portfolio, there will always be a certain level of vacant or non-operational properties, at any given time, as the portfolio could not function without the flexibility that it provides.

The OPW, like other State bodies, is obliged to follow central Government policies on the disposal of surplus properties and the arrangements involved are set out in the following Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) Circulars:

• Circular 11/2015: Protocols for the Transfer and Sharing of State Property Assets
• Circular 17/2016: Policy for Property Acquisition and for Disposal of Surplus Property