,000DMEEIR HOMES LYING EMPTY
Call for use of properties to help homeless crisis
MORE than 2,000 empty properties around Ireland were reported in the past year.
Around 90% were houses, with apartments making up only 6% of the total.
Just over half of the unused homes are in Leinster, this was followed by Munster with 30%, Connacht on 14% and Ulster has just 3%.
The properties were reported to Government-run initiative Vacant Homes Ireland, which lets people identify unused homes in their area in a bid to help local authorities kickstart the housing sector.
Spokesman Tom Gilligan said the bulk of them were vacant due to lack of finance, legal implications after the owner’s death and anticipation for the market to rise. He added the scheme had proven extremely beneficial at highlighting unused properties and allowing local authorities to restore homes.
He told the Sunday Times: “It’s quicker to bring a vacant home back into use than it is to build one and it has so many other benefits from a climate, community, economic and social perspective, outside of just housing.”
The findings emerged as the Government announced plans to crack down on Airbnb as the booking site dominates the Irish rental sector. More than 3,000 homes were listed on the platform while property site Daft.ie only had around 1,200. This indicates a problematic shift as owners opt for short-term rather than long-term contracts.
Labour TD Kevin Humphreys said: “The crisis is with the full-time businesses making profits servicing the tourist industry while thousands can’t secure affordable homes.
“I’ve been inundated with complaints from residents who find their streets have been turned into hotels.”