Office of Public Works

The Office of Public Works (OPW) (Irish: Oifig na nOibreacha Poiblí) is a public service of the Republic of Ireland. It is part of the government's Department of Finance. The job of the office is mainly to look after historical buildings in Ireland. The buildings they look after are owned by the government.

Role

They also assist in during elections, help with buying supplies and offer printing services for the government. The office is in charge of the Government Supplies Agency. They print the Irish Statute Book and the Iris Oifigiúil magazine.

History

The office was created on 15 October 1831. It was then known as the Board of Works. It put together the Office of the Surveyor-General for Ireland, the Barracks Board, and Navigation Board.

Before 1996, the OPW was also responsible for a lot of heritage sites in Ireland. In 1996, the management of the sites were taken over by a separate agency, Dúchas - The Heritage Service.

Organisation

The Minister for Finance has overall responsibility for the organisation. The people working for the office are civil servants.

Other websites

• Official website