Affordable Homes in Galway Gaeltacht: Challenges & Solutions

0:00From across Europe, powered by AI, this is Europe News Today. I'm Corey with the story. New data from Ireland's Central Statistics Office reveals 70,149 Bacon Homes nationwide in the final quarter of two, 1024. That's 2,105 fewer than the year before, putting the national vacancy rate at 3.2%. They measure vacancy by tracking electricity use, counting a home empty if it dips below what a medium fridge needs for less than 4 straight. Quarters, rural areas face much higher rates at 5.4%, more than double the urban figure of 2.2%. Places like Dublin, Kildare, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford all show lower numbers overall. Laterum tops the list for local authorities with a 7.8% vacancy rate, while South Dublin sits at the bottom which is 0.9%. These gaps highlight ongoing challenges and housing spread across the country. County Cork leads in sheer numbers with 6,632 empty homes, followed by Dublin City at 5,670.

1:05And Donagall at 5,603. One-third of these also have poor energy ratings, from F to G where data matches up. As vacancy edges down nationally, regional differences persist, pointing to targeted fixes ahead and harder hit spots.