Commercial vacancies hit high not seen in a decade

THERE are more empty commercial buildings across the country than there have been for the past decade, a new report has found.

Dara Keogh, chief executive of GeoDirectory, said: ‘The rate of commercial vacancies in Ireland has hit a new high of 14.3%. This can be attributed to a number of factors such as the rising cost of doing business, changing consumer habits and hybrid working. Consideration must now be given to how some of these vacant properties can be repurposed and reused, in order to avoid long-term vacancy.’

The national commercial vacancy rate increased by 0.3% in the last three months of 2023, to reach the highest level observed by GeoDirectory since it began reporting in 2013. In total, there were 30,046 empty commercial units across the country in the last quarter of 2023.

The commercial vacancy rate increased in 20 counties in the 12 months to December 2023, and was particularly prevalent in the west of the country. At 20.5%, Sligo recorded the highest county commercial vacancy rate, followed by Galway (18.5%) and Donegal (18.2%). Meath (10.1%) remained as the county with

‘The services sector had the largest share’

the lowest commercial vacancy rate in the state, closely followed by Wexford (10.5%) and Cork (12.2%).

The report, prepared by EY, also found that in Dublin, the rate increased by 0.3% over the year to 13.2% with the most vacancies in Dublin 2 and the fewest in Dublin 15.

This report looked at a sample of 80 towns and found that Edgeworthstown, Co. Longford, had the highest vacancy rate of 30.2%. Shannon, Co. Clare (29.8%), Ballybofey, Co. Donegal (29.4%), Boyle, Co. Roscommon (27.6%), and Sligo Town (26.2%) completed the top five towns. Greystones, Co. Wicklow and Carrigaline, Co. Cork were the towns with the lowest commercial vacancy rate in the country, at 5.6% and 7.2%. The services sector, including hospitality and tourism, had the largest share of commercial sites, accounting for 49.3% of the overall total.

Annette Hughes, director at EY Economic Advisory, said: ‘Strategic policy measures such as the revision of the National Planning Framework offer an opportunity to influence future growth patterns.’