The Office of Public Works (OPW) is planning to conduct a series of surveys to verify the location of more than 13,500 State-owned artworks after concerns were raised about items missing from the collection.
A total of 37 paintings, sculptures and other works were discovered to be missing in 2025 alone, but the OPW has been unable to provide a comprehensive list of artworks that remain missing from previous years.
The lack of information regarding unlocated artworks was described as “deeply concerning” by People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy, who raised the issue with Minister of State Kevin “Boxer” Moran last month.
The subsequent failure to quantify and list all of the artworks missing from the State Art Collection prompted Murphy to lodge a formal complaint to the office of the Ceann Comhairle.
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The OPW has now undertaken to conduct a series of surveys from July with a view to compiling a new database establishing the location of all the items within the State Art Collection.
This will identify all of the artworks that are missing from the collection and the OPW has committed to publishing the database once the surveys have been completed.
Moran said last month it would be “premature” to report the disappearance of artworks from the collection to An Garda Síochána because there was currently no evidence that a theft had taken place.
In correspondence forwarded to Murphy by the Ceann Comhairle’s office, the Department for Public Expenditure and Reform, under which the office sits, said the OPW had introduced a customised management system for the art collection and recruited a permanent management team in recent years.
“From July 2026, the collection management team will focus on surveys and updating the new database to ensure that information is verified and up to date,” it said.
“The team will visit client buildings, update records and compile reports based on outcomes of on-site surveys. Following this process, the OPW will have the most up-to-date information on the status of artworks.”
The department said this information could then be placed as a matter of record in the public realm. “The provision of accurate and up-to-date information to the public is a priority for the OPW,” it said.
The OPW has previously refused to release copies of audits in relation to the State Art Collection under Freedom of Information laws, arguing that releasing details regarding the location of artworks could create a security risk to State assets.
The collection, which has its roots in the 19th century, is on permanent display in many public buildings, including Áras an Uachtaráin, Leinster House and Government Buildings, as well as parks, Garda stations and some courts.
More than 90 per cent of the works are on display, though some are within offices not immediately accessible to the public, with touring exhibitions also put on to raise awareness of the collection’s contents.
Contemporary works are purchased from exhibitions, including college graduate shows, each year. Commissions and purchases are also made through the Per Cent For Art scheme, which allocates a proportio of the spending for infrastructure projects to purchasing artwork.
