A Connemara Councillor has claimed that three in every five homes in the region are vacant for up to ten months of the year – with the owners only using them at the height of the season as holiday homes.

That has led Cllr Gerry King to call on Galway County Council to contact the owners of these vacant homes – as well as those who have derelict properties – so that they can be better used by those seeking accommodation.

The Ballyconneely-based councillor said that a report he received showed that 60% of houses in Connemara are owned by tourists, with just 40% locally owned.

“It is a terrible imbalance, and it is awful to see houses that are owned by someone in Dublin or various parts of the country being left vacant for so long,” said Cllr King.

He wants these properties occupied as they create an unlived in appearance to various parts of Connemara.

“New Year’s Eve and these houses are full to capacity – but come the middle of January and you would swear you are in a different country,” he said.

His comments come as the latest Residential Buildings Report from database firm GeoDirectory revealed that the number of vacant homes across Galway is still almost 50% higher than the national average.

The rate in Galway for the second quarter of this year was 5.5% compared to a national average of 3.9%.

The lowest vacancy rate in the country is Dublin at 1.3 percent – while the highest is Leitrim at 12 percent.

CEO of GeoDirectory Dara Keogh says there is a big difference between the east and west of the country.

“The Connacht area has a high rate of dereliction compared to the east of the country. But then, the trend of dereliction is happening across the country and this is something that we look at over a period of time,” Mr Keogh added.

He said that it was something that they would be analysing into the future and trying to determine why it is happening, when there is such a huge demand on housing.

The report also revealed that there were a total of 1,293 new residential address points recorded in Galway in the twelve months to June – and a further 1,070 residential buildings were under construction across the county in June as well.

Pictured: Cllr Gerry King.