Sinéad Gibney (Dublin Rathdown, Social Democrats)
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397. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if his Department has any vacant or derelict buildings in Dublin-Rathdown; to provide the addresses of these buildings and details on the length of time they have been derelict, in tabular form; and his plans to bring any vacant or derelict buildings back into use. [17483/25]

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 surplus vacant or non-operational properties. It is normal to have an amount of space vacant, or vacant properties, at any given time as the portfolio could not function without the flexibility that it provides. Not all vacant properties will be deemed surplus to the State’s requirements or suitable for disposal.

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, NDP Delivery and Reform (DPENDPR) 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

The OPW policy with regard to non-operational (vacant) State property is to:

1. Identify if the property is required/suitable for alternative State use by either Government Departments or the wider public sector.
2. If there is no other State use identified for a property, the OPW will then consider disposing of the property 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 a 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).

In the interim the OPW has granted a licence to the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth in respect of part of the property.

The OPW can only answer for properties within its own portfolio and is not in a position to provide information regarding properties that are owned or managed by other government departments, their agencies or other public bodies.