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A DETAILED ANALYSIS based on data from Census 2016 has revealed that there are over 10,000 vacant houses in 17 of the larger provincial towns across Ireland – many of which are within commuting distance of Dublin and other cities.
The Heritage Council’s Architecture Officer Colm Murray said that this combined with something like the ‘living city tax incentive’, could provide badly needed homes without building or much spending, as well as revitalise Ireland’s towns and cities.
The Living City Initiative gives tax relief to those who carry out renovations on old buildings in certain “special regeneration areas” (SRAs) in the centres of Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Waterford and Kilkenny.
Murray suggests that this scheme should be extended to other parts of the country in order to alleviate the housing crisis and lower the number of vacant properties around the country.
This would also help to enliven cities, towns and villages, where two thirds of Irish people live, but are suffering hugely because of a combination of factors, such as mass emigration and a lack of investment.
“There’s a huge issue in the national planning strategy,” says Murray. “Dublin needs to be a global city, it needs to suck people and businesses in – but there’s a justice problem with that.
[Government investment in Dublin] tends to prevent economic development in in other regions. Finding a solution is difficult and requires a lot of thinking.
Of the top 17 areas that the data included, here are the top five towns or villages with the highest proportion of non-holiday home vacant properties:
Other areas and a list of the full figures can be found here:
The overall preliminary data from Census 2016 reveals that there are 198,358 vacant houses (not being used as holiday homes), across the country in both urban and rural areas, and that almost 50,000 of those are in urban areas.
These are buildings which are not being used as holiday homes, but have been registered as a home with the Post Office, as Colm Murray explains.
“The census officers go to every house where a letter had been delivered in the past 20 years – that’s classed as a residential address. If a building was derelict, or unlivable that was put on another list.”
This list is one where people could live, or have lived.
According to the latest figures from homeless charity Depaul, there are approximately 6,600 people – including 2,300 children – living in emergency accommodation in Ireland.
Lorcan Sirr spoke at MacGill Summer School in Donegal about the reasons for empty houses across Ireland. He said these ranged from someone dying or being moved into a nursing home; those who have moved abroad to work; those that don’t have enough money to do up a house, or those that have so much money they son’t care what happens to the house.
Murray says that a more detailed look is needed to find the precise reasons for so many houses being left vacant.
He said:
The functions that towns facilitate is part of their heritage value. Seen in this light, the re-occupation of vacant homes is a vital part of the revitalisation of Ireland’s towns, in order to make them desirable places to live and work.
“The most environmentally benign building is the one that does not have to be built, because it already exists”.
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And a half a million people going to see the pope. HAHA
@Decko Kelly: Pope this and Pope that. People are quick to forget that if it wasn’t for the catholic church, we wouldn’t have one of the most educated work forces in the world.
@B-Tech Roadman: Ye good point. Once people are educated it’s ok to abuse children.
@Decko Kelly: But shur I know that. Lets not forget the good they did. Can’t be all bad
@B-Tech Roadman: say that to the victims and their families.
@B-Tech Roadman: how naive of you to think that a secular society would operate without schools. Governments fund schools religious or not. We unfortunately trusted them to care for our children for a few generations but that is changing.
@B-Tech Roadman: we have a well educated workforce. Don’t lose the run of yourself.
If we didn’t allow the church to run our schools then we would have had state run schools instead. The curriculum is set by the department of education so I think we would have been fine. Probably even better than our high standard now as students wouldn’t have wasted hundreds of hours learning prayers and backwards teachings.
When the “bad” that happened was as extreme as what that evil organisation did and then intentionally tried to cover up, then yes, we can forget about any good which they did.
The RCC is a scourge on the Irish people. The sooner the better they are completely separated from any state roles (eg education).
@Daveinson: We hadn’t a pot to piss in or a window to throw it out before the 1970′s.
@Decko Kelly: Never confuse the messenger with the message.
@Noel Tate: Tell us how you really feel, don’t sugar coat it! There’s waiting lists to get into many of the Catholic high schools in the Boston area. Individuals, myself included, if we had to do it over, wouldn’t even think of not attending a RCC high school! The education is years ahead of the public school zoos!
@Noel Tate: Tell us how you really feel, don’t sugar coat it! There’s waiting lists to get into many of the Catholic high schools in the Boston area. Individuals, myself included, if we had to do it over, wouldn’t even think of not attending a RCC high school! The education is years ahead.
@Noel Tate: the state and society (No matter how much they feign innocence) were happy for the church to take these roles, no one else would.
@Richard W. Kendall: it must be the colour of your religion.
@B-Tech Roadman: your clown mate !
@Noel Tate: you really don’t understand how poor we were. There would have been no schools or hospitals if the church didn’t provide them back in the day. Ireland wasn’t always like this.
@B-Tech Roadman: f##k off
@Richard W. Kendall: I never said the education wasn’t good. They are teaching a curriculum set by the department of education. They are not “years” ahead of non religious run schools.
The fact that people may be queueing for catholic run schools in Boston has zero to do with my point which was; when an organisation has committed as much sexual abuse, rape of children, murder of babies and toddlers, phycological abuse, child neglect and intentionally tried to cover it up, regardless of what good they have done they no longer have any place within our state education system.
@GClare: that
1: Doesn’t have any affect on my point and
2: Doesn’t change the fact that priests in Ireland raped hundreds (if not thousands) of children in Ireland and intentionally tried to cover it up. They still raped children, even IF people knew about it.
@Liam Doyle: I do, I know the role which the RCC played in running our education system and health care. However that doesn’t change the fact that they abused their power. They raped children, the murdered babies and toddlers and attempted to cover it all up.
My point that any good they done does not outweigh all the child rape and murder which they committed still stands.
@Liam Doyle: I’m very disheartened to see that both you and ‘B-Tech Roadman’ have been failed by the incredible Catholic Education you both clearly received, it’s almost as if both you somehow completely lost the capacity to think, and research for yourselves.
Contrary to your ignorant statement, quote; “There would have been no schools or hospitals if the church didn’t provide them back in the day.”
There was a school and hospital system in Ireland ‘back in the day’, from 1831 in fact, and it was far more tolerant and advanced than the Catholic School system we have today.
‘National schools, established by the British Government with the Stanley Letter in 1831, were originally multi-denominational. The schools were controlled by a State body, the National Board of Education, with a six-member board consisting of two Roman Catholics, two Church of Ireland, and two Presbyterians.’
@B-Tech Roadman: Look up Vere Foster.
The churches are masters at painting a face for themselves as veibg selfless and tireless toilers when in fact they hijacked resources in collusion with the state, and squeezed the poor with blackmail and threats. All with sanctimonious espousals. Sickening. However, the chickens are coming home to roost. The ground is shifting. One can smell panic from the liars, and this pope’s visit has backfired. In a big way.
@Gaius Gracchus: Good man Gaius!
@Gaius Gracchus: Well you can’t use semicolons or quote correctly so I’ll not lose sleep. I’m well able to think for myself and I’ve done so.
Regardless of how it started, the catholic church still had a fundamental part to play in our education. Whether your massive ego likes it or not.
@PV Nevin: You’re gone into tinfoil hat territory good sir
@B-Tech Roadman: bull sh it
@Gaius Gracchus: there were some slight political and economic changes circa 1922. Is your assumption that because the British could provide education & healthcare to a select, wealthy few in the 1830s then the impoverished Irish state could automatically provide same for all from independence onwards? Where did you fail to be educated exactly?
@B-Tech Roadman: man you are some
@B-Tech Roadman: Lunatic
Yes, but is the movie any good?
@Dave Slater: Perhaps. What this article doesn’t mention is the film grossed $1.4M worldwide in the opening weekend. The $618 was only in the US – limited to 11 cinemas / 14 showings. So a fair few people globally must have thought it looked worth going to see.
@Dave Slater: not great to be honest
@Dave Slater: It is not bad actually. I liked it.
@Shane Corry: The witch-hunts developing around Spacey et al is a very, very dangerous phenomenon.
“First they came for Weinstein. Now they will come for you”.
Why are comments allowed on this article but not on the #metoo article about he sex pest female actor? ???
Huh?
@andyearley: because it’s not about a legal case, the other one is.
@Dave O Keeffe: yeah but there are legal cases going on with spacey too. So comments about those cases could be published on this article.
@andyearley: and they will be removed but as the legal cases are not the subject it removes the liability from the publishers.
@Dave O Keeffe: OK man. As least I can stop being outraged and just do the washing up now. Maybe
@andyearley: because females aren’t sex pest!!!!!
@andyearley: The Denis O’Brien article two days ago had comments closed also – and it nothing to do with any court case.
@GClare: well yer one clearly was
@Clear And Graphic: The man who must not be named
@andyearley: who gives a feck
Is there any nudity in it?
@Do the Bort man: you mean like one of those French films?
@Do the Bort man: only if your Ma makes a cameo in it
Shame he’s a sex pest now, his acting skills are a loss to Hollywood
@Ciarān: accused but not proven or charged.
@B9xiRspG: Yeah I agree just accused of being a sex pest by a number of credible sources. Either way his career is over and Hollywood is minus a great actor regardless of what crimes he did or didn’t do
@Ciarān: so much for innocent until proven guilty. All you need is some creditable sources, just zero proof.
@Ciarān: ah he always a bit odd. Played that part in The Usual Suspects a bit too well if you ask me
@B9xiRspG: Calm down there it’s not me accusing him lol
@Ciarān: shame yeah .. hahaha
@Ciarān: Your Ma’s a sex pest
Old news
@Mr Grumble: brand new to me.
They released it on video in July. They are backwards over there.
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