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New figures show that one in every five commercial premises in Galway City are lying empty.

And the author of a new report believes the vacancy rates are down to the rising costs of doing business, changing consumer habits and hybrid working.

A breakdown of the figures for the end of 2023 shows that for Galway City, the rate was higher than County Galway, at 20.1% of the 2,869 premises (up 1% year on year) and in Loughrea, the rate was 18.7% (up 0.9%) of the 277 premises. It was Tuam that recorded the biggest vacancy rate in County Galway, at 26.1% (up from 25.2% a year earlier) of the 412 premises. It was the sixth-highest town in the country, behind Edgeworthstown in Longford (30.2%); Shannon in Clare (29.8%); Ballybofey in Donegal (29.4%); Boyle in Roscommon (27.6%) and Sligo town (26.2%).

A breakdown of the commercial building uses for Galway City shows that 52.6% are in the services sector; 20.7% in retail and wholesale; 13.7% in health; 3.6% in education; 3.2% in the financial sector; 2.9% in industry; 2.3% in construction; and 1% in public administration.

Dara Keogh, Chief Executive of GeoDirectory said: “The rate of commercial vacancies in Ireland has hit a new high of 14.3%, continuing the trend of increasing rates in recent years.

“This trend can be attributed to a number of factors such as the rising cost of doing business, changing consumer habits and hybrid working.

“Consideration must now be given to how some of these vacant properties can be repurposed and reused, in order to avoid long-term vacancy and potential dereliction of these buildings,” he said.

Annette Hughes, Director at EY Economic Advisory, said: “Businesses have been impacted by a series of factors over recent years which have led to challenging trading conditions for many and so this increase is not unexpected. On a more positive note, the continued easing of inflation, ongoing reductions in energy prices and the anticipated cuts in interest rates should hopefully provide some relief for businesses this year.”

Walking and cycling take 29,000 cars off Galway Metropolitan Area roads every day, according to the Walking and Cycling Index.

6 in 10 adults in Galway Metropolitan Area walk or wheel at least five times a week, 1 in 5 cycle at least once a week

Ireland’s night-time economy is “falling away” with just 70 nightclubs operating across the State at present, Minister for Justice Helen McEntee has said. 

Analysis: dozens of cities across the world have hired 'Night Mayors' to reinvigorate cultural life and Ireland is next.

Culture Night Late is designed to support events that will begin after 9pm and continue late into the night on Culture Night, Friday 20 September 2024. The award is to encourage more-inclusive and innovative flagship late-night arts events suitable for a range of audience types. Events should attract a large diverse audience and offer audiences a greater diversity in their Culture Night experience late into the night.

Opening Date: 06 February 2024 Closing Date: 07 March 2024 (17.30) Max award: €12,500

NTIA's 3rd Night-Time Economy Summit teams up with Vibelab, Defected Records, and NTIA CIC. Join us from Thursday 08.02.2024 to Friday 09.02.2024 in Manchester. Anticipating 1000 attendees per day for this 2-day event.

The Greater Manchester event will see the most ambitious project to date with the summit hosting over 200 speakers across 2 days and 4 stages with some new and exciting domestic and international partnerships.

The event will discuss the important role that the Night Time Economy plays in the international economic and cultural recovery both internationally and across the UK.

Galway Arts Centre presents Disquiet Nights, a curated Late-Night series that will begin in January 2024!

Disquiet Nights is a curated series of late-night cultural events throughout 2024, hosted across Galway Arts Centre’s venues at 47 Dominick Street and Nuns Island Theatre.

Spanning performance, film, spoken word, music and sound, Disquiet Nights offers a gentle disruption into the cultural fabric and flow of Galway city. Artists include; Anna Mullarkey, Felispeaks, Stephanie Dufresne, Súil Amháin, Maria Fusco, Margaret Salmon, Ceara Conway, Denise Ferrerira da Silva, Valentina Desideri, Kate Butler, and DJ Collective Ar Ais Arís.

Disquiet Nights is curated by Megs Morley and supported by the Arts Council of Ireland and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports and Media through the Late Night Events Scheme.

Catherine Martin T.D., Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, today (October 25) announced a pilot initiative to support the development of a vibrant and diverse Night-Time Economy across the country. Support will be provided to 9 pilot cities and towns to enhance their night-time culture including Dublin City, Cork City, Limerick City, Galway City, Kilkenny, Drogheda, Sligo, Buncrana and Longford Town.

Catherine Martin TD, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, established the Night-Time Economy Taskforce on 30 July 2020 as one of the priority actions for the department and on foot of a commitment in the Programme for Government.

Its membership includes a range of government departments and agencies whose remit covers aspects of the Night-Time Economy and who had valuable input to contribute from a legislative and policy perspective.