Business
Galway land prices are on the increase as more property changes hands
As house prices in the city show a slight increase, the same is now true when it comes to agricultural land across County Galway in recent weeks.
And it has been revealed that some good quality land is now fetching €9,000 an acre which is a significant increase on this time last year.
The amount of interest in acquiring agricultural land has also increased with more bidders turning up at auctions.
The land in question was sold in the Claregalway area with €90,000 being paid for the 10 acre plot which was described as being of top quality.
It was also revealed that lands located between Dunmore and Milltown were purchased for €8,500 and acre which also shows an increase for this part of the county.
Tuam based auctioneer Martin Tyrrell told Farming Tribune that it was evident that there was a healthy interest in land and consequently prices had increased for good quality land in a sought after location.
But he said that he had not come across anyone purchasing agricultural land with the intention of developing it in the future. “That is not even on the radar at the moment”, Mr. Tyrrell added.
Over the last few months he has sold land in Fohenagh, Mountbellew, Kilbannon, Kilkerrin, Milltown, Caherlistrane, Ballindine and Knockdoe. One of the sales he negotiated involved a 40 acre farm in Claregalway for which €320,000 was paid – this is €8,000 an acre.
Farming is one of the industries that have held firm during the recession which is why there is still a big demand for land.
While prices for land were in the region of between €5,000 an acre for lesser quality land and €8,000 for top of the range property, prices have shown a steady increase in recent months.
Mr. Tyrrell said that that the banks were much more willing to give out loans for the purchase of agricultural land then they were for those wishing to acquire houses.
He said that most of the land sales involved properties ranging from 15 acres to 40 acres which were much easier sold than some of the bigger farms.
“Things have certainly turned the corner as far as farmland prices are concerned and there has been a lot of movement in recent months.
“There has been a big change from this time last year with more land exchanging hands and prices are slightly on an upward scale. It is nothing like the situation six years ago when colossal prices were being paid for land but the situation looks very promising”, Mr. Tyrrell added.
The new President of Local Ireland, the association representing local news publishers around the country, is Head of Irish Times Regionals Dan Linehan.
Mr Linehan takes over the presidency from Declan McGuire of the Connacht Tribune. His appointment was confirmed at the recent Annual General Meeting of Local Ireland at Bloomfield House Hotel near Mullingar, Westmeath.
Mr Linehan, who has served as Vice President of the organisation for the last two years, said: “The coming years are a very important time for local publishers with many important issues to be addressed, including the implementation of the Future of Media Commission recommendations, defamation reform, the role and support for local publishers in public service reporting and helping publishers develop commercial digital offerings.”
Speaking at the AGM, Mr McGuire acknowledged the work done by the Executive in the past two years under the direction of Executive Director, Bob Hughes, on several projects related to the publishing industry but most especially the successful conclusion of the long-running campaign for the abolition of VAT on newspapers.
He also wished Mr Linehan the very best in his new role as President of the association for the next two years.
Mr Hughes thanked Mr McGuire for his leadership and support during his term of office and said he looked forward to working with Mr Linehan on the key policy priorities for the association, including Government supports, Government advertising, fair remuneration for content from the tech platforms and the reform of the legislation for defamation.
Local Ireland members also elected Seán Mahon, Managing Director of the Southern Star, as Vice President for the next two years.
The shortage of affordable housing is the single biggest impediment in attracting and retaining workers in the West, according to business group Ibec.
At a ‘Regional Insights Series’ meeting in the Galmont Hotel in Galway last week, employers were told that capacity constraints and labour supply are the key challenges facing business growth in the region.
Ibec Head of Regional Policy Helen Leahy said: “There must be greater focus by government on enhancing quality of life issues such as housing and infrastructure which are driving labour shortages in the region.
“Ibec’s vision for the West is to realise its potential to become a globally competitive location. An inadequate supply of affordable housing is now the single largest impediment to attracting and retaining talented workers, without whom business investment and expansions are not possible.
“Labour shortages are a real concern for businesses in the region. People decide where to live and work based on quality of life and access to high quality services and amenities. Industry tends to follow talent, and in this regard, the region needs to have all the building blocks in place as the attraction and retention of world-class talent becomes increasingly competitive on a global level,” said Ms Leahy.
Amongst Ibec’s priorities for the West are:
- Addressing housing and infrastructure challenges
- Transitioning towards a new growth model with Net Zero energy powered by Atlantic offshore wind resources
- Adapting businesses to the new economic realities
- Enhancing capacity and skillsets to achieve sustainable development objectives
- Investment in people and skills
- Creating competitive advantage through digitalisation
- Innovation as a key driver of productivity growth
One in five Galway businesses want to go fully cashless, as the move towards card payments and tapping continues unabated post-Covid.
In all, 22% of Galway businesses would like to be fully cashless, according to a survey carried out by BOI Payment Acceptance (BOIPA), a provider of payment technology solutions, which asked Irish businesses about the current payment landscape as well as business confidence and concerns.
Over one-third (36%) of Galway businesses were unaware there is no contactless limit on mobile wallets – just below the national average – while 54% believe the increase in card over cash transactions has helped them run their business.
Six out of ten Galway businesses expect to grow this year despite the cost-of-living crisis and running costs dominating as key concerns; 62% believe their business will grow over the next twelve months despite global economic uncertainty.
Unsurprisingly cost-of-living increases and running costs were the main concerns the majority of businesses had.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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