A hundred empty houses

Council to exceed 2025 construction target

Tipperary Co Council is set to exceed its housing construction target again this year, but the number of existing houses that are not occupied continues to detract from the forward momentum.

The council presently has 106 vacant houses in its stock. These include units that are available for letting and where works are being carried out. The council's Management Report for June states that 18 vacant units are located in the Nenagh district.

Recently published Freedom of Information figures suggested that Tipperary has one of worst records in the country with regard to the length of time taken to make vacant houses available again.

Obtained by Sinn Féin, the figures indicated that the average re-let time for a vacant council house in Tipperary is over 30 weeks. Sixty dwellings had been vacant for up to six months, while at the other end of the scale, two have been lying idle for as long as 42 months.

The issue was raised at last week's meeting of Tipperary Co Council, where councillors raised several examples of locations where more houses have been vacant for some time, among them Ballina, Kilcommon and Templederry. Cllr Liam Browne said people were being told that the council has one of the best track records in housing in Ireland, but the new figures regarding vacant houses “suggest we could do a bit more”.

Responding, Director of Services Jonathan Cooney said the figures included a number of houses that have been marked for demolition and are not intended to be brought back into use.

Until demolished pending the building of a new house, the unit must remain on the vacancy list, he explained.

NENAGH UNITS ‘ON HOLD’

Tipperary Co Council has a projected delivery of 259 new housing units this year, far above the target of 170 set by the Department of Housing.