Rural Laois has highest vacancy rate but homes also unused in central Portlaoise

Laois has a below-average rate of vacant homes but parts of the county are above average according to a new study that attempts to use electricity usage as a tool to more precisely find out what buildings are empty that could be lived in.

The research also shows that west and south of Laois have the highest rate of vacant homes while central Portlaoise also has a relatively high rate of empty homes.

The findings are contained in new figures from the Central Statistics Office which attempts to assess vacancy rates right across Ireland. The Vacant Dwelling Indicators based on Metered Electricity Consumption 2021 reports on homes down to small electoral divisions.

A dwelling is defined as vacant when it has very little or no electricity consumption over four consecutive quarters. This definition identifies vacancy over a period of time. Homes without a connection that might be considered derelict are not included.

The bar for the vacancy was the equivalent of the power needed to run a domestic fridge.

It found that the national vacancy rate from metered electricity consumption was 4.3% of homes across 26 counties. The vacancy rate for Laois was 4%. The Local Authority with the highest rate of vacancy was Leitrim at 10.6%. The lowest local authority rate was 1.4% which was recorded in South Dublin.

The report reveals the occupancy rate by council electoral area. The Borris-in-Ossory Mountmellick Municipal District has the highest rate in Laois with 6.3% of homes with a power connection vacant. It is the most rural part of Laois but also the biggest geographically which is bookended at either end by Mountmellick and Rathdowney.

With a population of more than 25,000 the Portlaoise Municipal District is the smallest but most densely populated part of the county. The vacancy rate in the district which also includes Ballinakill and Abbeyleix is 3.1%.

The north and east of Laois is possibly the fastest growing and includes the large towns of Portarlington on the Offaly border and Graiguecullen beside Carlow. It has the lowest vacancy rate at 2.8%. It also includes Stradbally.

Swinford in Mayo was the local electoral area that had the highest rate of vacancy  in Ireland at 12.2% in the last four months of 2021. The lowest rate was in Leixlip in Kildare and Tallaght Central in Dublin - both 0.7% of homes were not in use.

The CSO also reports on the Electoral Division Vacancy Rates which vary radically in size and population. The vacancy rate is highest in Luggacurren where 12.7% of homes with power have been deemed vacant. A notable return is found in Portlaoise where the vacancy rate in the older central part of town is 3.8% compared with 1.6% in Portlaoise rural where many of the new housing estates are located.

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Commenting on the release, Justin Anderson, Statistician in the Statistical System Co-ordination Unit, said: “The CSO has previously published details of metered electricity consumption from data provided from the ESB Networks. This report identifies dwellings that can be assumed to be vacant through particularly low levels of consumption over a period of at least four consecutive quarters".

The study also found that the vacancy rate was 2.3% in Dublin and 5.1% for the Rest of Ireland. There has been a slight rise in the vacancy rate in Dublin over the last few years from a low of 1.7% in the first four months of 2018. Nationally, there has been a fall in vacancy rates from a high of 4.9% in Q1 2016.

The vacancy rate in the last four months of 2021 for rural areas was 7.5% which was more than double the rate in urban areas 2.9%.