Galway Bay fm newsroom - There are over 12 thousand vacant homes lying idle across Galway.
Figures from Census 2016 reveal that of those, almost 5 thousand have been vacant for more than 5 years as the country faces a major housing crisis.
Almost 12 and a half thousand homes are lying idle across Galway as the state struggles to tackle the most severe housing crisis in it's history.
In Galway City, there are just over 2,800 vacant homes - almost 690 of which have been idle for longer than 5 years.
The number of vacant properties in the city outstrips the actual demand for homes, which stands at 2,316.
Eyre Square has the worst vacancy rate in the city - with 21 percent of properties lying idle.
The demand for housing in the county is lower, but the stock of vacant homes is significantly higher with over 9,600 units lying idle.
The housing need for the county is estimated at 1,100 units - which means the number of vacant properties is almost ten times the actual housing need.
Over 4 thousand of the vacant county homes have been sitting idle for longer than five years.
According to the Irish Independent, Ballinasloe has the highest vacancy rate in the county - with 15 percent of properties in the urban town area remaining empty.
