'Money down the drain’ - Government agency spends €20 million to rent empty offices

The Office of the Public Works (OPW) has spent €20 million to rent unoccupied offices, a new report has revealed.

The Comptroller and Auditor General’s Report found that the OPW has paid €12 million to rent the Distillers Building in Dublin since March 2024.

The OPW also paid €7.9 million to rent the unoccupied Bishop’s Square building on Kevin Street in Dublin between May 2019 and March 2024.

The OPW has stated that the delay in occupying the Distillers Building has been due to “complex design and construction issues”, both for the landlord and itself, and “the practicalities of dealing with multiple clients with unique specialised requirements”.

The OPW expects that “substantial completion” status will be achieved for the fit-out by the end of the month, and the building will be available for clients to occupy thereafter.

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The building is expected to become the headquarters for Tailte Éireann, the Chief State Solicitor’s Office, the Valuation Tribunal and the Insolvency Service of Ireland.

The OPW added that the Bishop’s Square building was also unoccupied because of ownership difficulties and delays in fitting the offices out. It is now occupied by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald raised concerns about the content of the report in the Dáil on Wednesday.

Deputy McDonald said: “The Comptroller and Auditor General's report published yesterday raised serious concerns regarding the spending of taxpayers' money across the board, including the Office of Public Works, OPW, paying €20 million to rent offices that were left empty."

She added that the government has “a big problem with spending money” and is “pouring millions of euro in people's hard-earned money down the drain”.

The OPW is responsible for managing the government’s property portfolio. At present, it manages an estate of around 2,500 properties, including over 500 offices for civil servants.