Staggering 91 retail units in city centre are lying vacant

By Darragh McDonagh  

As many as 91 retail units in the city centre are currently vacant – the number does not include empty office space or the vast amount of vacant properties in industrial estates on the edge of the city, and has risen from 64 since last summer.

And the bad news for the owners of the empty properties is that the shops may soon be liable for commercial rates.

Galway City Council has already consulted the Department of the Environment in relation to legislative changes which would allow the local authority to charge landlords rates in respect of unoccupied units. Dublin City Council and Cork City Council are permitted to levy rates on vacant properties but legislative changes are required if Galway city is to follow suit.

Cllr Ollie Crowe argued this month that the imposition of commercial rates on empty units would force landlords to lower rents in order to attract tenants.

The concept has encountered opposition in recent weeks, however, and discounted rental of the units to organisations in the arts has instead been proposed.

“The idea won’t work to lower rents,” said Cllr Niall McNelis. “Landlords are doing their best to find tenants for empty shops as it is, and some banks won’t allow landlords to lower the rent by that much anyway.”

Instead, Cllr McNelis is proposing that vacant shop units are leased to arts organisations at a reduced rent in order to promote the arts and avoid a sense of emptiness in the city.

“There were 86 vacant units in the city and the number has risen into the 90s since the head shops closed,” he said. “Galway prides itself as a city of culture and hundreds of art graduates emerge from colleges here each year.

Michael Coyle, CEO of Galway Chamber of Commerce, described the introduction of commercial rates for vacant premises as “a very contentious point” and said that the matter had not yet been debated by the Chamber of Commerce.

“Would it bring rents down? It would be difficult to prove cause and effect,” he said.

Mr Coyle said that he would be in favour of broad reform of the system of local government funding and of broadening the base of rates payers. He described rates as a tax on businesses “just for existing” and said that 8% of the city was funding 30% of the city council’s budget. 

 For more on this story, see the Galway City Tribune