Audit of publicly-owned buildings outside Dublin finds average occupancy rate of 30%

Comptroller and Auditor General Seamus McCarthy (pictured) said the OPW 'seems to be dragging its heels on analysing and publishing' the new data. File photo: Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie

An audit of publicly-owned properties has found some buildings with an occupancy rate as low as 30%.

The Office of Public Works (OPW), the agency responsible for managing the State’s property portfolio, said it conducted a series of ‘occupancy surveys’ between 2023 and 2025 on 20 buildings outside Dublin on a single day, returning an average occupancy of 30%.