Killarney’s shop vacancy rate declines

OCCUPIER activity has largely been positive on the high streets of 10 Irish towns and cities around the country during the six months to the end of September according to CBRE’s twice-yearly vacancy survey.

As a result, four urban centres saw increases while none showed falls in occupancy levels.

Killarney fared best with its vacancy rate dropping from 6.8 per cent at the end of March to 1.9 per cent at the end of third quarter.

The report also noted the impact of e-commerce on retail sales, as the growth of online spending increased by 11.5 per cent year-on-year in August while face-to-face spending dropped by two per cent in the same period.

Mary Stritch, IT Tralee; Jerry Gallagher, ITT; Jane Leonard Cork IT;Dr Siobhan Bradley, Regional Skills Manager, South-West; Aoife O Reilly, South Kerry Skillnet; Katie Kerin, South West Gnó Skillnet; Daithi Fallon, CIT; Don Crowley CIT; Mary Rose...