One in seven commercial units are empty in Galway

Figures released this week show that more than one in every seven commercial premises in Galway is lying empty – the second highest rate nationally.

And the figure was even worse in county towns such as Tuam and Loughrea, where around one in every five business premises is vacant.

According to a new report from GeoDirectory and DKM Economic Consultants, the total number of occupied commercial address points in Galway City was 3,047, while there was a vacancy rate of 16.7% (up 0.7% on the same time last year).

For County Galway as a whole, there were 9,287 occupied address points and a vacancy rate of 16.2%, up 0.6% from the same time last year.

Tuam has 469 occupied address points and a vacancy rate of 20% (down from 21.1%) and Loughrea 287, with a vacancy rate of 19.3% up from 18.2%.

Nationally, Sligo has the highest vacancy rate at 18.8%, followed by Galway at 16.2%, Mayo and Leitrim at 15.6% and Roscommon at 15.3%. The lowest rates recorded were in Kerry and Meath at 10.4%.

For comparison, Limerick was at 15.1%, Waterford at 14.3%, Dublin at 12.1% and Kilkenny at 12%. Nationally, the average vacancy rate was 13.1%.

The report counts each address point as a unit, as opposed to a building, which can comprise one or more units.  A breakdown of the figures for Galway City shows that of the occupied units, around 50.2% are involved in the service industry; 22.6% in retail and wholesale; 14.3% in health; 3.5% in education; 3.2% in the financial sector; 3.2% in industry; 2% in construction and 1% in public administration.

The report reads: “The national commercial vacancy rate stands at 13.1%, with 14 counties recording a decline in commercial vacancy rates compared to only two counties at the same period in 2017. This suggests that the economic recovery is slowly beginning to take hold outside of Dublin. However, there is still a clear divide between counties in the East and West of the country, and in urban and rural areas, in terms of commercial vacancies.

“At a provincial level, Leinster’s commercial vacancy rate stood at 12.3 per cent, while at the other end of the scale, Connacht had the highest provincial commercial vacancy rate at 16.3 per cent. Of the ten counties with commercial vacancy rates lower than the national average, six were located in Leinster. All five counties in Connacht had commercial vacancy rates higher than the national average.

Dara Keogh, CEO of GeoDirectory said: “We are beginning to see evidence that the economic recovery is taking hold outside of Dublin, albeit at a slow pace. 14 counties recorded a drop in commercial vacancy rates in the year to date, compared to only two at this point last year. While this is a positive development, economic activity is still centred around Dublin, with Connacht, Ulster and the Midlands lagging behind.”