Kilrush and Shannon have the two highest rates of empty business units in Munster.
Figures from GeoDirectory show that Clare’s vacancy rate is higher than than the national average.
Kilrush has the third highest commercial vacancy rate in Ireland and the highest at Munster, with over a quarter of business premises there vacant at 25.9%.
However, this is a slight reduction in the vacancy rate there from this time last year.
Over a third of Kilrush’s businesses in retail and wholesale are vacant – 34% – which is the highest figure in that industry recorded nationwide.
Shannon’s vacancy rate stands at 23.7% – far higher than the average for this province’s average vacancy rate of 13.3% – but Shannon’s rate also reduced slightly from 2019.
Clare’s rate of empty business units stands at 14.9% as of June 2020 – that’s nearly one and a half per cent higher than the same time last year.
Ennis is the town with the lowest vacancy rate in this county at 17.2% – but even that is nearly 4% higher than the national average.
Overall, there are almost 5,000 occupied business premises across Clare – just over 3% of the country’s total.
