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.
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.
The number of properties currently identified as surplus and vacant is 59 (full list is set out at the link below).
Given the types and age of these properties, not all of the properties are suited to residential use or would require significant investment to comply with current building regulations for use as residential or for community purposes. As with many older properties Title issues can arise that need to be resolved prior to any intra State transfer or disposal which can impact significantly on the timeline of the disposal.
The breakdown of surplus vacant properties by type of property is as follows:
Former Garda Stations Closed Under the 2012 and 2013 Policing Plans 26
Other Former Garda Stations 5
Former Garda Residences 4
Former Coast Guard Properties 11
Former Customs Properties 2
Former Met Station Property 1
Miscellaneous Buildings 10
The status of the remaining 59 surplus vacant properties is as follows:
• 6 are sale agreed.
• 2 Leases are being prepared for Local Authorities for community use.
• 4 are being prepared for disposal and expected to close by end of 2023.
• 15 are transferring to Local Authorities with five expected to close by end of 2023.
• 16 are being retained or considered for State use.
• 10 are being prepared for disposal during 2024.
• 6 have title issues which need to be resolved prior to disposal or alternative State use.
Of the 59 properties currently identified as surplus and vacant it is expected that 15 will be disposed of by the end of the year, thus reducing this figure to 44. It should be noted that this figure (44) does not take into account any properties that may become surplus or vacant in the future.
The OPW, like other State bodies, is obliged to follow central Government policies on the disposal of surplus vacant properties and the arrangements involved are set out in the following Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform (DPENDR) 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’s approach to managing surplus vacant properties is firstly, to establish if the property is required for alternative State use, including the potential for it to be re-purposed for either Government Departments or the wider public service.
In line with the above, the OPW has actively engaged and provided a list of its surplus vacant properties to the Land Development Agency, each relevant local authority, 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 social or humanitarian housing purposes or for other State use.
Secondly, if no alternative State use is identified, the OPW considers if open market disposal is an option, depending on prevailing market conditions.
Thirdly, the OPW may consider community involvement, subject to a detailed submission that demonstrates that the community or voluntary group seeking to use the property has the means to insure, maintain and manage it in order to reduce costs to the Exchequer.
In addition, there are a limited number of sundry residential dwellings that are intrinsic to the estates of parks and gardens as part of the national historic properties managed by the Office of Public Works (OPW); and for that reason would not be appropriate for disposal. In general, these properties are allocated to staff in specific posts, such as Park Superintendents, Deer Keepers, etc. where there is a requirement for them to be present on the ground.
List of vacant properties
