Castlebar concern over vacant social housing units

Councillors in Castlebar have voiced concerns over the length of time it is taking to bring vacant social housing units back into use in Mayo.

Figures published by the Sunday Independent revealed that Mayo Co Council took an average of 42 weeks to re-tenant vacant council houses in 2025. The report found the local authority owns 2,643 properties, of which 95 are currently vacant, and a further 452 are leased.

The figures prompted Cllr Michael Kilcoyne to raise the issue at the June meeting of Castlebar Municipal District where he said Mayo was “not the worst, but certainly not the best” when compared with other local authorities.

Across Connacht, the average turnaround times were Galway Co Council - 38 weeks; Galway City Council - 42 weeks; Leitrim Co Council - 40 weeks; Roscommon Co Council - 24 weeks; Sligo Co Council - 21 weeks.

Director of Services David Mellett told councillors that average turnaround times can be skewed by a small number of complex cases. He assured the meeting that a number of properties are being brought back into use in a “matter of weeks”.

Mr Mellett said turnaround times can vary depending on the condition of the property and a range of other factors.

“You might have historic houses that were built on family farm land where the septic tank is part of the house boundary, so it’s trying to sort out those legal issues, which can delay bringing them back into tenancy,” he explained. “Those anomalies can skew the average."

Earlier in the meeting, Cllr Donna Sheridan said she had been made aware of “at least two” social housing properties in the district where the tenants were no longer living in the homes, despite continuing to pay rent.

“They are paying the rent, but you can see from the house they are not living there, and the neighbours know they are not living there,” she said.

She asked what procedures are in place for handling such cases.

“Shame on anybody who has a social house, is paying the rent, and is not living there, [considering] the number of people on the list,” she said. “It’s crazy what’s going on”.

Cllr Sheridan requested a report outlining how many council-owned properties in the Castlebar district are currently vacant, along with the expected timelines for completing any works and returning the homes to use. She also asked that the report examine whether staffing levels are contributing to delays and whether additional resources are needed to speed up turnaround times.

This information, she said, could help councillors make the case for increased staffing and funding at the next budget.

Cllr Cyril Burke also requested that the report include data on the number of people joining and leaving the social housing list in the district, to give councillors a clearer picture of how the list is changing.