Why are so many over-the-shop rooms empty amid a housing crisis?

Walking down any main street in towns and cities across Ireland reveals the true reality. Vacant and decrepit shop fronts and derelict space above shops are rampant, writes Catherine Conlon

Why are there so many potential homes empty in a housing crisis? Why are all those spacious rooms above shops that in a former era accommodated the families of bankers, bakers, shopkeepers and publicans filled with storage and left to decay? File picture: Neil Michael

Why are there so many empty homes ‘above the shop’ in a housing crisis?

New data from GeoDirectory shows rising levels of commercial vacant properties across the country with Munster marginally below the national average. The data shows 13.8% of properties in the region were vacant in the second quarter of 2023 while the national figure stood at 14.1%.