A review of State spending for last year has found the Office of Public Works (OPW) paid around €20 million to lease two buildings that remained unoccupied afterwards.
In its report covering 2024, the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) said the OPW spent €122 million to lease various buildings for the year, while at the end of 2024 its total commitments in relation to office accommodation leases were estimated at €1 billion.
The C&AG highlighted two cases where the OPW leased buildings that subsequently remained unoccupied.
It said the property with the second highest rent expenditure in 2024 (€10 million) was the Distillers Building in Dublin 7 and that it is classified as being 'reserved' (i.e., allocated but currently unoccupied) on the OPW database.
The lease term commenced in July 2022, and since the expiry of a rent-free period in March 2024, the OPW has paid rent totalling €12 million (excluding VAT) up to the end of September 2025. The OPW has stated that it expects the Distillers Building to be ready for occupation by September 2025.
Separately, the State's spending watchdog notes that the OPW entered into a lease agreement on a building in Bishop’s Square, Dublin, in May 2019 but that "due to delays with fit-out works, the intended tenant - the
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade - did not occupy the building until May 2024".
Total rent of €7.9 million (excluding VAT) was paid by the OPW in respect of the period before the building was occupied.
Meanwhile, included in the C&AG report are details of Trinity Point, which the OPW purchased for €39.85 million (excluding VAT) in December 2023.
However, as of end May 2025, the first floor of the building remained vacant. The OPW has since stated that the first floor has now been allocated to a client who is in the process of occupying the space.
