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Deputy Pa Daly.
A LOCAL TD has expressed concern after Tralee was found to have high rates of vacancy in the latest GeoDirectory Commercial Buildings Report released on Tuesday.
The report showed that Tralee and Listowel have vacancy rates of 19.6% and 20% respectively. These are equivalent to the rate in Sligo, the county with the worst rate of vacancy.
Sinn Féin TD for Kerry, Pa Daly, said that while, on the face of it, Kerry has the third lowest rate of commercial vacancy in the state, there are causes for concern.
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“The vacancy rates in Tralee and Listowel are nearly double the rate of other parts of the country. This demonstrates the failure of the programme for government’s Town Centre First plan in the programme for government,” he said.
“Town centres need to be prioritised. We need to keep services such as the Tralee Courthouse should not be moved from the centre of towns and the council needs to work proactively with state organisations and the HSE to attract units and jobs to the town centre.”
“In addition, property owners cannot be allowed to sit on vacant properties for years. The council policy not to levy a single euro in rates on vacant properties, some of which have been vacant for years, must be reviewed,” added Deputy Daly.
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Ya and the banks have an exposure of 12.8% in commercial real estate. We are coming in 3rd with the deindustrialised / crashing Germany in first and the Netherland in second place. So, when this global crisis happens and it will – pain, it’s baked into the economic cake for Ireland.