Some 15 registered derelict sites in Galway should be considered for upgrade, or for alternative use in light of the city’s “unprecedented housing crisis”, according to a Galway based senator.
Sinn Féin Seanad spokesperson on housing, Trevor Ó Clochartaigh, is calling on the Government to act on the number of derelict sites currently unused and therefore out of the available housing stock.
Sen Ó Clochartaigh said the Galway sites, including the former Corrib Great Southern Hotel, as well as properties in Ballybrit, Newcastle, St Helen’s Street, Ballybane, and Dominick Street Upper, could be converted into social and affordable housing, and that City Hall “must have the first option” to build housing developments on such vacant sites.
In the 2017 draft annual budget, the Galway City Council allocated more than €25,000 for derelict sites. However Sen Ó Clochartaigh said most of this covers securing the properties against vandalism and anti-social behaviour. He has also called for the three per cent annual levy on derelict sites, due to come into force in 2019, to exclude land held by local authorities.
