News Headlines | How the State ends up fining itself over derelict sites

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RT É Investigates found that Ireland’s derelict‑sites registers expose a paradox in which the State is effectively fining itself: out of roughly 2 500 listed properties, a significant share are owned by public bodies such as the HSE, CIÉ, the Office of Public Works and the Department of Education, which have collectively incurred hundreds of thousands of euros in levies for buildings left to decay—from a boarded‑up former health centre in Laois to abandoned HSE premises in Dublin and Wexford, long‑neglected railway properties owned by CIÉ, and vacant school sites held by the Department of Education. The report shows that many of these sites have remained derelict for years despite repeated complaints and promised redevelopment plans, while the levy system forces one arm of the State to charge another, recycling public money without visible progress. Similar problems appear in charities and Catholic organisations that hold derelict housing, and the investigation calls for a transparent, national derelict‑sites register to better identify and address the systemic failures that allow public‑owned decay to persist.

Read more: https://www.rte.ie/news/investigations-unit/2026/0602/1575784-left-to-rot-how-the-state-ends-up-levying-itself/

#RT #HSE #CI #OPW #rtinvestigates

How OPW’s €490,000 wall reconstruction went from a project expected to take three months to one that lasted nearly three years.

When ESB finally fixed live electricity cable, construction immediately halted after another live wire was found.

https://www.thestory.ie/2025/02/04/how-the-opws-e490000-controversial-wall-rebuilding-went-from-a-project-expected-to-take-just-three-months-to-one-that-lasted-nearly-three-years/

#ireland #construction #opw #foia

If we could all be paid what #OPW is paying for a wall or a bike shed, a lot of my problem would be solved!

#ireland

[11:45] €490,000 cost to replace WRC wall 'astonishing' - Gannon

An OPW project to replace a 70-metre perimeter wall at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) for €490,000 has been described as "astonishing" by Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon

https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2025/0129/1493571-opw-wall/

#OPW #70_metre #theWorkplaceRelationsCommission #WRC #490,000 #SocialDemocrats #GaryGannon

[16:20] OPW project to replace 70m wall around government office ended up costing €490,000

An OPW project to replace an unsafe seventy-metre perimeter wall around a government office ended up costing over €490,000.

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/opw-project-to-replace-70m-wall-around-government-office-ended-up-costing-490000/a1790830094.html

#OPW #seventy_metre #over€490,000

[13:37] OPW hoped Leinster House bike shed could be model design

The Office of Public Works (OPW) was hoping the €336,000 bicycle shed at Leinster House could become a model design to be adapted and reused at other historic properties.

https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2024/1101/1478598-leinster-house-bike-shed/

#TheOfficeofPublicWorks #OPW #336,000 #LeinsterHouse

[22:13] OPW to defend cost of modular homes to accounts committee

Officials from the Office of Public Works (OPW) will defend the cost of modular homes when they appear before the Public Accounts Committee tomorrow, describing them as "State assets".

https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2024/1021/1476705-opw-modular-homes/

#theOfficeofPublicWorks #OPW #thePublicAccountsCommittee #tomorrow

[12:36] Cost-effective bike shelter alternative rejected in 2021

The OPW told authorities in Leinster House three years ago that installing uncovered bicycle parking outside the Member's Restaurant would have been a cost-effective option.

https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2024/0925/1471842-bike-shelter-alternative/

#OPW #LeinsterHouse #threeyearsago #theMember'sRestaurant