HOMES EMPTY DESPITE CRISIS

North Wexford’s housing issue needs tackling, says councillor

ALMOST half the houses in Courtown, Cahore and Kilmuckridge are lying vacant for most, if not all of the year, despite the county’s housing problem.

Cllr Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin said the high level of vacancy in Wexford needs to be addressed in light of the housing crisis in Gorey and north Wexford. Cllr Ó Súilleabháin, right, said that the preliminary results from Census 2016 show that there is a huge amount of homes in north Wexford unoccupied. He said that while some are holiday homes many are not and could help deal with the county’s housing crisis.

ALMOST HALF the houses in Courtown, Cahore and Kilmuckridge are lying vacant despite the county’s housing problem.

Cllr Fionntán Ó Súilleabháin said the high level of vacancy in Wexford needs to be addressed in light of the housing crisis in Gorey and North Wexford.

Cllr Ó Súilleabháin, right, said that the preliminary results from Census 2016 show that Courtown, Cahore and Kilmuckridge areas all have approximately half of all dwellings lying unoccupied.

He said that in the Castletown area the figure is as high as 38 per cent; 36 per cent in Ballygarrett while in Ardamine two out of every five dwellings are lying vacant. In Monamolin the vacancy rate is 16 per cent and in Wells its almost one fifth of all homes.

He said that while some of these homes are holiday homes the vast majority are not. ‘‘f we go a little inland we can also see a high rate of vacant dwellings. In Inch and Ballylarkin the rate is 15 per cent and all areas from Camolin stretching through Craanford, Hollyfort, Monaseed right up to Wicklow Gap have one house out of every eight homes lying unoccupied.

‘In the midst of a housing crisis with over 4,000 people in County Wexford seeking accommodation this should serve as a wake up call to the government parties and those who supported the totally misguided and disastrous housing policies during the Celtic Tiger years.

‘While some of these vacant units are holiday homes which are occasionally used, many others are not and could be put to good use to help deal with the housing crisis in County Wexford. ‘We urgently need a range of measures to both incentivise and force owners in the latter group to bring these units back into use. These include refurbishment grants, compulsory purchase orders and a vacant property tax as they have in France, England and Scotland.

‘A pilot scheme is already underway in Co Louth that gives an indication of how local authorities could implement CPOs on vacant dwellings, as well as the sort of costs involved.

‘ The Minister for Housing must make funding available to Wexford County Council to allow us to acquire vacant units.

‘It has also been proposed that property owners could be penalised for leaving homes empty for more than a year.’