There are at least 200 vacant local authority and affordable houses in Galway city, something that is “absolutely scandalous”, given that there are more than 3,000 households on the housing waiting list.
This is the view of Independent Cllr Catherine Connolly. She was reacting to figures published in the Galway City Council’s latest Quarterly Housing Report which confirms that there are 118 empty local authority houses in the city.
Cllr Connolly added that many affordable houses also remain empty and that if the two housing categories are taken together there are c200 empty houses in Galway.
“In the context of over 3,000 households waiting for a house - on the west side of the city between eight years and 10 years and on the east side for between five and six - this is absolutely scandalous,” she said.
According to the report, the local authority houses remain empty for periods varying from three months to more than three years.
New houses constructed under the affordable scheme and or bought in private estates as affordable remain empty for around two years. Cllr Connolly said this is because most affordable houses are actually no longer affordable. She said an example was houses at €200,000 in Blath na Creige in Knocknacarra.
Cllr Connolly said another problem with empty houses was that City Hall loses revenue in the form of rents and mortgage repayments, and they are costing the tax payer to maintain and refurbish them.
Cllr Connolly is calling on City Hall to designate a special maintenance team for the turnover of the houses and to set a time limit of a set number of weeks beyond which a house should never remain empty.
She has also tabled a motion for the city council requesting permission from the Minister for Housing to allow affordable houses to be allocated as social housing.
