Counties in the West of Ireland are the worst hit by commercial vacancies, according to a new report.

The latest GeoDirectory report shows the commercial vacancy rate in Galway has increased slightly to 18.5 percent.

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Nationally, the report highlights concerns being raised in the hospitality sector over rising costs, with a decline in commercial units in the past year.

The Galway commercial vacancy rate of 18.5 percent is higher than the national rate of 14.4 percent, and is the third highest in the country, behind Sligo and Donegal.

Meath, at 9.8%, was the county with the lowest commercial vacancy rate, followed by Wexford and Cork.

Of the main urban areas in Galway analysed, Tuam had the highest commercial vacancy rate at 24.2%, while Loughrea had the lowest at 18.5%

Looking at the national picture, there was a decline of 270 commercial units in the accommodation and food services sectors in the past year.

However, the highest proportion of accommodation and food service units were found in counties in the west of the country.

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