Two Clare towns have appeared in the top 15 for the highest rate of vacant commercial properties in the country.
According to the latest report from Geodirectory, 15.8% of the county’s commercial properties were vacant at the end of last year.
According to the report, Shannon ranked as the town with the second highest vacancy rate in the country at the end of the year at 30.8%.
This is an increase of 1% from the last three months of 2023 and only ranks below Ballybofey which has 36.4% of its commercial properties out of use.
Kilrush also makes an appearance on the list ranking as the town with the ninth most vacant business premises at 24.5%, a minor decrease from 24.6% at the end of 2023.
The towns also rank as the two most vacant towns in Munster, with Ennis also making an appearance on this list with 19.3% of business properties vacant in the county town, the sixth highest in the province.
Overall, Clare’s commercial vacancy rate rose ever so slightly across 2024, increasing by 0.1%.
This was enough however, to keep the county higher than the national average of 14.5%.
