888. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation to list the residential buildings in the estate of the Office of Public Works which are derelict or vacant; and the length of time they have been unoccupied. [59544/26]

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. Not all vacant properties will be deemed surplus to the State’s requirements or suitable for disposal.

There are currently 30 surplus vacant properties owned or managed by the OPW, that either contain residential quarters or are wholly in use as residential accommodation.

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.

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 OPW’s Policy in 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. A number of strategic properties are retained in anticipation of potential State use/development in line with service demands arising from Government policy changes to public service provision.

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.

Before properties are placed on the open market the OPW advises other state bodies of its owned surplus vacant properties, so that they can assess them for suitability for social or humanitarian housing purposes or for other State use. This includes the Land Development Agency, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, the Department of Children, Disability and Equality and the relevant Local Authority.

A list of the current surplus vacant properties containing residential accommodation, the status of each and the year that each unit was last used, where available, is attached at Appendix 1. This does not include those properties that are an intrinsic part of heritage estates or gardens managed by the OPW that are not considered to be surplus to requirements or part of the OPW's disposal programme.

Appendix 1