Editorial: Mayo having 9,000 vacant properties during housing crisis is nonsensical

A plan in Lahardane to help to alleviate the housing crisis is aiming to grow even further.

Local and in particular rural communities have lost control in shaping their own destinies in recent times and a consistent degradation of public services from Dublin often dominates the narrative.

In a flight of panic over the impact of refugees coming to Mayo earlier this year, elected members of the county council arranged an emergency meeting to deal with the issue.

It culminated in an utterly toothless and nationally embarrassing edict being issued to cease communications with the Department of Integration.

One issue that has never ebbed away is the issue of housing, and not a blip from any councillor in this county to call an emergency meeting to deal with the 13,500 young people living at home with their parents.

Mayo has almost 60 properties available to rent on Daft.ie but prices remain unattainable for many.

Home ownership is in rapid decline in this county, but how much worse must it get until councillors and local politicians take urgent action.

Lahardane began by mapping out the number of vacant properties it has in the area, 100 in total.

The community hosted a vacancy clinic with the support of Mayo County Council and the SEAI to inform homeowners, both potential or current, that there is approximately €100,000 available in grant funding to retrofit and renovate such properties.

Mayo currently has over 9,000 properties laying derelict. The Swinford electoral area is the worst nationally for long-time vacant properties.

Everyone in each of the towns and villages of east Mayo know where these homes are. They pass by them daily and amplify the loneliness of rural living.

Giving a community the task of 100 days to map them all, then the next 100 to facilitate movement and begin the conversation allows the wide-reaching Mayo diaspora and the current young residents stuck at home with mam and dad the chance to own their own home.

State backed mortgages, which now include vacant properties once the home has been inspected for vacancy, allow young people to get the cash to facilitate works upfront, then the grant pays back the mortgage.

Admittedly, vacant homes aren’t for everyone. You’ll rarely get them up to an A-rated status, it’s a long arduous process, and if taking it up yourself it’s almost a full-time job.

But the personal cost of owning your own home and the wider social improvement for the greater community is worth every cent and drop of sweat.

Hundreds of zoned residential sites across the county should be looked at for the introduction of pilot schemes to build rapid build A-rated homes.

Cut out developers, allow communities to identify and pinpoint needs in each town and village to increase the number of homes available to purchase.

Currently the sum for purchasing a newly built home in Castlebar is nudging close to a million euro.

Over 100,000 homes are needed in Ireland, thousands too are needed in Mayo.

Speak to business owners and school principals and they are almost embarrassed at the quality of experienced candidates they have applying for jobs but, with such little housing supply, this will soon dry up as Mayo loses its attractiveness if we can’t house people here in this county.

Frankly, 9,000 vacant properties in a housing crisis is daft, and with €100,000 available for each property it’s just plain stupid.

Fortunately communities like Lahardane remain strong willed.

With sign-ups on the website growing and more communities coming on board, we can finally witness action.