Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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390. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the total amount spent per year by each Department on purchasing or renting new office space (details supplied); and the amount spent per year on purchasing or renting new office IT equipment or furniture in each of the past ten years and to date in 2021. [51109/21]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that a deferred reply will be issued to him in respect of this Parliamentary Question, in line with Standing Order 51B.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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391. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of offices currently being rented or in ownership of his Department that are currently not in use by the Department. [51126/21]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, 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 - comprising approximately 2,500 properties - valued at €3.3bn.

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, garda stations, 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 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 deemed suitable for disposal.

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

1. Circular 11/2015: Protocols for the Transfer and Sharing of State Property Assets

2. Circular 17/2016: Policy for Property Acquisition and for Disposal of Surplus Property

Secondly, if no 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.

There are no leased/rented office buildings that are not in use. 

The properties listed in the attached Appendix refer to vacant office buildings owned by the Commissioners of Public Works or Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform that are currently not in use.  As a matter of course, the use or disposal of these properties are being considered in line with the OPW's policy as set out above.