Up to a third of houses lie empty

ALMOST one in three houses in some of Ireland’s most picturesque locations are lying empty.

Figures detailed in the preliminary census data show that Kerry, Leitrim, Donegal and Mayo are suffering from vacant property levels double and even triple the national average.

According to the initial Central Statistics Office (CSO) findings, the growth of new homes in Ireland between 2006 and 2011 (13.3%) was almost double the increase in our population (8.1%).