A total of 1,946 dwellings in the city and county are deemed derelict - the third highest number in the State - according to a new report.
The Residential Buildings Report published by property data firm, Geodirectory, which found that the level of vacant dwellings in Galway is 40 per cent higher than the State average.
This is in contrast to figures from the Minister for Local Government, Darragh O’Brien, in response to a parliamentary question, where he stated that only 16 derelict sites were listed on the Galway City Council’s official derelict sites register at the end of 2020. Only one site was listed on the Galway County Council’s register for the same period.
The Geodirectory report comes as the Government has announced annual funding of €120,000 for dedicated personnel to help transform vacant houses in Galway into new homes. The move is in a bid to alleviate the shortage of affordable housing in the city and county.
Vacant homes officers are employed by both the Galway city and county councils, and are tasked with giving advice and assistance to the transformation of vacant properties into new housing stock. However, there have been calls for vacant and derelict sites to be taken into public ownership and developed as public housing.
‘A small step’
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The new Government funding for VHOs is being increased by 20 per cent, and a total of €60,000 a year will now be provided to each council. This is expected to allow VHO roles to become full-time positions.
VHOs will also be tasked with overseeing a new programme for the compulsory purchase of vacant housing for resale. There are also plans to introduce a vacant property tax to incentivise owners to use or sell buildings in this category.
Minister of State, and Fine Gael Galway West TD, Hildegarde Naughton [pictured above], said this, along with the recent abolition of a requirement for planning permission for vacant and derelict properties, should allow for the rejuvenation of many buildings.
“It just doesn’t make sense to see buildings lying vacant in our communities at a time when so many young families find themselves locked out of the housing market,” said Minister Naughton. “If there’s something that can be done to help tackle the shortage of affordable housing and the associated issues with high rents, then it must be done. This is another small step towards that goal.”
‘Resist commodification of housing’
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However, PBP Galway representative, Adrian Curran [pictured above], said However, vacant and derelict sites must be taken into public ownership so they can be developed as public housing. He was also critical of the Galway local authorities in how they are seen to have dealt with owners of such properties.
It is understood that the Galway County Council was one of 13 local authorities which did not seek to impose any Derelict Site Levy in 2020, while in the same year, the Galway City Council collected just €21,000 - less than 10 per cent of what was imposed.
“There's no pressure on owners to provide these properties as homes or community facilities,” he said. “Councils must consistently add properties to their derelict sites registers and enforce the Derelict Site Levy. They should issue Compulsory Purchase Orders to retain and restore long-term vacant properties, and then use them to provide community facilities or public housing with rents linked to income rather than selling these sites on to developers.”
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Mr Curran added that with figures from the Department of Housing showing 290 people officially listed as homeless in Galway city and county, the Galway local authorities “must change course” and “resist the commodification” of the housing stock.
"Returning vacant and derelict homes to use by families and communities will greatly help in tackling the affordability and supply issues that lead to homelessness or people living in unaffordable or unsuitable accommodation." https://www.geodirectory.ie/knowledge-centre/reports-blogs/geodirectory-residential-buildings-report-q4-2021
