*Social housing in Feakle. 

Up to 150 dwellings in six different parts of Clare are being investigated for ownership to determine future uses.

An update was sought on the work of Clare County Council’s Vacant Homes Officer during 2019 by Fianna Fáil councillors Shane Talty, Pat McMahon and Pat Hayes at the December sitting of the local authority.

Prepared by the Social Development Directorate of the Council, a Vacant Homes Action Plan for the county was submitted to the Department in 2017. This report considered vacancy rates from the Central Statistics Office, (CSO) and the An Post administered Geo-Directory database.

2016 Census figures from the CSO indicated there were 10,925 vacant homes in the county, the figure reduces to 6,104 once holiday homes were excluded. For the same period, 2,700 unoccupied dwellings were noted by An Post. The disparity between the two is still being examined by the Council.

Senior executive officer, Siobhán McNulty outlined that an assessment of current vacancy levels is “ongoing”. 2019 saw Ennis, Shannon, Sixmilebridge, Tulla, Broadford and Tuamgraney’s vacant houses examined. “Following inspections approximately 150 houses in these villages are being investigated for ownership and where the owners’ details can be obtained from Land Direct, they are being contacted by Clare County Council and requested to bring their properties back in to use as social housing”.

38 houses in Clare have been registered on the vacant homes website by members of the public. McNulty advised, “Of these, there is one imminent acquisition for social housing and a small number of potential acquisitions once legal issues are resolved and/or receivers are in a position to proceed with disposal. Others have been ruled out for reasons such as insufficient address to identify property, locations are in a rural area where there is insufficient demand and properties are tied up in the ‘Fair deal’ scheme”. She described assessing owners of vacant properties as “labour intensive”, “difficult” and a “slow process”.

“All of us are aware towns and villages are dotted with vacant and derelict houses,” Cllr Talty stated. He acknowledged that the work is “resource intensive”. He added, “There are two groups looking at this, you have the thousands on the property list and the neighbours who are worried about their area coming into dereliction”.

Cllr McMahon agreed that it was “a complex area trying to find out who owns what house”. He felt the biggest challenge was to how to bring the process of taking houses back “more up-to-date”.

Dereliction is regularly discussed in the Killaloe Municipal District, Cllr Pat Hayes told the meeting. “There is no magic wand but I refer you to the statement from one crowd in Castleblaney who said, ‘if we do nothing our town will go into disrepair’”. He added, “The reality is when times were difficult we were building houses and cottages out the country for people, there isn’t much benefit in building social housing if you’re pulling people from rural areas”. Hayes believed the buy and renew scheme “is not suitable at all” and concluded, “We need to make sure housing is brought back into use”.

Related News

old ennis national 3
Illegal encampment pitches up at old Ennis National School site
french passport 1
75 year old Lissycasey man charged with helping illegal entry of 22 year old woman he met online into Ireland
clancy park caravan 16-04-24 3
Ennis father of five released from custody after Clancy Park illegal encampment removed
Charity Golf Day 2025 Insta Square - Copy
Annual charity golf classic at Limerick Golf Club to benefit Down Syndrome Ireland

Advertisement

Latest News
st breckans v kilmihil 15-03-25 michael cotter oisin o'loughlin 1
Big wins for St Breckan's & Clondegad in Garry Cup
Geopark_Photo_Winner_1
Liscannor photographer wins competition celebrating twenty years of Global Geoparks Network
clancy park caravan 16-04-24 3
Ennis father of five released from custody after Clancy Park illegal encampment removed
clare v wexford 23-02-25 aidan mccarthy cian galvin patrick crotty tony kelly ryan taylor david reidy 1
Kilkenny win over Limerick confirms Clare's relegation from top tier of league
clare v laois 15-03-25 ikem ugwueru josh hogan 1
Clare stage dramatic comeback to leave Laois with vital win
Premium
clancy park caravan 16-04-24 3
Ennis father of five released from custody after Clancy Park illegal encampment removed
clare v laois 15-03-25 ikem ugwueru josh hogan 1
Clare stage dramatic comeback to leave Laois with vital win
clare v westmeath 15-02-25 ellen casey 1
Clare qualify for camogie league final
clare v tipperary u20 15-03-25 daire culligan 1
Clare caught for second week in a row as Tipp nab last minute winner
pepper 1
Employee stole €84,000 of laptops from Shannon employer to fund gambling addiction

Subscribe for just €3 per month

If you’re here, you care about County Clare. So do we. Did you rely on us for Covid-19 updates, follow our election coverage, or visit The Clare Echo every week for breaking news and sport? The Clare Echo invests in local journalism and we want to safeguard its future in our county. By becoming a subscriber you are supporting what we do, will receive access to all our premium articles and a better experience, while helping us improve our offering to you. Subscribe to clareecho.ie and get the first six months for just €3 a month (less than 75c per week), and thereafter €8 per month. Cancel anytime, limited time offer. T&Cs Apply. www.clareecho.ie.

Subscribe for just €3 per month

If you’re here, you care about County Clare. So do we. Did you rely on us for Covid-19 updates, follow our election coverage, or visit The Clare Echo every week for breaking news and sport? The Clare Echo invests in local journalism and we want to safeguard its future in our county. By becoming a subscriber you are supporting what we do, will receive access to all our premium articles and a better experience, while helping us improve our offering to you. Subscribe to clareecho.ie and get the first six months for just €3 a month (less than 75c per week), and thereafter €8 per month. Cancel anytime, limited time offer. T&Cs Apply. www.clareecho.ie.