CITY TRIBUNE
West hit by strongest rent rises in 15 years
Rent prices in western and north-western counties have had the strongest rate of inflation on record since 2006 – because the majority of these regions remain outside of Rent Pressure Zones.
That’s according to research in the latest Daft.ie Rental Price Report for the final quarter of 2021, which has revealed that average rent has increased in the west and northwest by 18.9% compared to Quarter 2020.
The recent report found that the average rent in Galway City has increased by 8.8% since 2020 to €1,504.
Donegal has experienced one of the highest increases in the west, with average rents jumping by an unprecedented 24.3%. Leitrim, once the cheapest county to live in has had the highest increase in the country at 24.8%, with the average rent now costing €779.
And as these areas are not protected by RPZ (Rent Pressure Zone) legislation, landlords cannot charge more than ‘market rent’ when seeking a rent review, which must be a minimum of 24 months from the previous review notification. Galway City is a RPZ.
Threshold, the national housing charity, said that their Galway office dealt with queries from 504 households in December 2021.
Of these queries, 40% concerned tenancy terminations, with private renters facing little options of alternative accommodation when their tenancy is ended as long-term rental choices dwindle.
One in five cases concerned rent and rent increases in the same period, according to Threshold’s Western Regional Services Manager, Karina Timothy.
“The high increase in rent prices combined with the fewer choices of accommodation in the west and northwest is incredibly concerning,” she said.
“We’re experiencing far more queries with more tenants expressing concerns over the increasing costs of renting and it’s a very difficult time for those who are renting.
“Additional measures such as a Rent Register, which would allow private renters to check the previous rent on the property and when it was set, are undoubtedly necessary, as is a nationwide expansion of Rent Pressure Zones in order to tackle rising prices,” she added.
Daft.ie reported that rents have risen nationally by an average 10.3%, the highest year-on-year national rent increase since the second quarter of 2018.
This is exacerbated by long-term accommodation availability dropping significantly throughout the country, with short-term lets becoming a more frequent phenomenon.
Collectively in Connacht – along with Cavan, Donegal and Monaghan – Daft.ie reported just 188 homes available to rent on February 1; the second lowest figure since 2006.
Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, 600 homes were recorded as available to rent, which represent a drop of almost 70%.
That’s why, Ms Timothy said, ongoing measures from the State must continue.
“We need to see further action from the government in tackling soaring rent prices, similarly to how they have acted in response to increasing energy costs and inflation,” she said.
“There won’t be any improvement without some further regulatory measures, and unfortunately – the longer that this issue remains – the more individuals and families are placed at risk of homelessness.”
Threshold’s helpline is open Monday to Friday, 9am-9pm at 1800 454454, with webchat at threshold.ie for any renter in need of advice or support.
From the Galway City Tribune – An impassioned plea for a ‘masterplan’ that would guide Galway City into the future has been made in the Dáil. Galway West TD Catherine Connolly stated this week that there needed to be an all-inclusive approach with “vision and leadership” in order to build a sustainable city.
Deputy Connolly spoke at length at the crisis surrounding traffic and housing in Galway city and said that not all of the blame could be laid at the door of the local authority.
She said that her preference would be the provision of light rail as the main form of public transport, but that this would have to be driven by the government.
“I sat on the local council for 17 years and despaired at all of the solutions going down one road, metaphorically and literally. In 2005 we put Park & Ride into the development plan, but that has not been rolled out. A 2016 transport strategy was outdated at the time and still has not been updated.
“Due to the housing crisis in the city, a task force was set up in 2019. Not a single report or analysis has been published on the cause of the crisis,” added Deputy Connolly.
She then referred to a report from the Land Development Agency (LDA) that identified lands suitable for the provision of housing. But she said that two-thirds of these had significant problems and a large portion was in Merlin Park University Hospital which, she said, would never have housing built on it.
In response, Minister Simon Harris spoke of the continuing job investment in the city and also in higher education, which is his portfolio.
But turning his attention to traffic congestion, he accepted that there were “real issues” when it came to transport, mobility and accessibility around Galway.
“We share the view that we need a Park & Ride facility and I understand there are also Bus Connects plans.
“I also suggest that the City Council reflect on her comments. I am proud to be in a Government that is providing unparalleled levels of investment to local authorities and unparalleled opportunities for local authorities to draw down,” he said.
Then Minister Harris referred to the controversial Galway City Outer Ring Road which he said was “struck down by An Bord Pleanála”, despite a lot of energy having been put into that project.
However, Deputy Connolly picked up on this and pointed out that An Bord Pleanála did not say ‘No’ to the ring road.
“The High Court said ‘No’ to the ring road because An Bord Pleanála acknowledged it failed utterly to consider climate change and our climate change obligations.
“That tells us something about An Bord Pleanála and the management that submitted such a plan.”
In the end, Minister Harris agreed that there needed to be a masterplan for Galway City.
“I suggest it is for the local authority to come up with a vision and then work with the Government to try to fund and implement that.”
The new Salmon Weir pedestrian and cycle bridge will be officially opened to the public next Friday, May 26.
Work on the €10 million bridge got underway in April 2022, before the main structure was hoisted into place in early December.
A lunchtime tape-cutting ceremony will take place on Friday, as the first pedestrians and cyclists traverse the as-yet-unnamed bridge.
The Chief Executive of Galway City Council, Brendan McGrath, previously said the bridge, once opened, would remove existing conflicts between pedestrians, cyclists and traffic “as well as facilitating the Cross-City Link public transport corridor over the existing 200-year-old bridge”.
The naming of the new bridge has been under discussion by the Council’s Civic Commemorations Committee since late last year.
One name that has been in the mix for some time is that of the first woman in Europe to graduate with an engineering degree – Alice Perry.
Ms Perry, who was from Wellpark, graduated from Queen’s College Galway (now University of Galway) in 1906. The university’s engineering building is named in her honour.
The bridge was built by Jons Civil Engineering firm in County Meath and was assembled off-site before being transported to Galway. Funding for the project was provided in full by the National Transport Authority and the European Regional Development Fund.
(Photo: Sheila Gallagher captured the city’s new pedestrian footbridge being raised on the south side of the Salmon Weir Bridge in December. It will officially open next Friday, May 26).
From the Galway City Tribune – Minister of State for Local Government and Planning, Kieran O’Donnell was labelled a “disgrace” for overturning councillors’ decisions to rezone land in the new City Development Plan.
Minister O’Donnell (pictured) confirmed in a letter to Council Chief Executive Brendan McGrath last week that he was reversing 25 material alternations made by councillors to the CDP 2023-29. He made the decision on the advice of Office of Planning Regulator (OPR).
Minister O’Donnell directed that 14 land parcels that were subject to land-use zoning changes by councillors as part of the Material Alterations to the Draft CDP should be reversed.
He directed that a further 11 land parcels in the city should become “unzoned”.
The Minister found that the CDP had not been made in a manner consistent with recommendations of the OPR, which required specific changes to the plan to ensure consistency with the national planning laws and guidelines.
At last week’s Council meeting Cllr Eddie Hoare (FG) asked for clarity on the process by which councillors could rezone the lands that had been changed by the Minister’s direction.
Cllr Declan McDonnell said, “What he [Minister O’Donnell] has done is an absolute disgrace”.
And he asked: “Do we have to have another development plan meeting to deal with it?”
Both Cllrs Hoare and McDonnell wondered what would become of the lands that were rezoned or unzoned by the ministerial direction.
Mr McGrath said the Council had put forward an argument in favour of retaining the material alterations in the plan, but ultimately the Minister sided with OPR.
He said if councillors want to make alterations to the new plan, they could go through the process of making a material alteration but this was lengthy.
The Save Roscam Peninsula campaign welcomed the Minister’s decision.
In a statement to the Galway City Tribune, it said the direction would mean the Roscam village area on the Roscam Peninsula will be unzoned and a number of land parcels would revert back to agriculture/high amenity.
A spokesperson for the campaign said: “the material alterations made by city councillors following lobbying by developers continued the long-standing practice of councillors facilitating a developer-led plan rather than an evidence- and policy-based plan that meets the needs of the city.
“The Minister’s direction is an important step in restoring confidence in the planning system. It is clear from the City Council’s own evidence on future housing projections that there was no requirement to zone these lands for residential purposes in order to meet the needs of the targeted population increase up to 2029,” the spokesperson added.
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