Hard to tackle housing crisis with nebulous vacancy stats

World of Politics with Harry McGee

There are lies, damned lies and then there are statistics – which can make it really hard to get a handle on how many vacant homes there are in the State.

According to census data, from the Central Statistics Office there are 180,000 of them. However, that figure has been contested; GeoDirectory data puts it at 90,000.

Then several local authorities have done their own studies of their own. In one pilot study of three local electoral areas, Dublin City Council looked at 213 homes. It confirmed that 49 of those were vacant and only 16 were confirmed long-term. That was ten per cent of the total.

During the week the Oireachtas Housing Committee published a report on urban renewal – with some very powerful recommendations. What is of more interest is its findings.

One of the witnesses, architect Mel Reynolds, estimated there were 137,000 homes vacant based on census figures. While the committee did not adopt that figure, the media certainly ran with it.

We reported that a vacant home tax would be applied to 137,000 homes throughout the State – and the Government took issue with that. It contested the 137,000 figure, with even Taoiseach Micheál Martin saying it was too high.

The Department of Finance is now completing a report with its own estimate of vacancy. It’s basing its figures on the returns for the Local Property Tax. We can conclude that the extent of vacancy is far lower than 137,000.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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