The pub is increasingly becoming a part of Ireland’s housing solution.
Almost 100 defunct drinking holes are being converted into homes as part of a current Government scheme targeting vacant commercial properties.
They are among 1,165 more general commercial properties which have received special planning exemptions since bespoke regulations came into effect in 2018, a rate of take-up that could lead to the provision of as many as 2,700 homes across Ireland.
In an era of housing scarcity, and fierce competition among would-be buyers, vacant and disused commercial premises in towns and villages nationwide have been eyed-up by policymakers as one part of a wider solution.
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It is little surprise shuttered bars in rural and urban areas would play their part given the level of closures in recent years – more than 1,800 between 2005 and 2021, according to the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland.
In 2022 such former public houses were added to the list of vacant commercial properties which, under the Government’s Housing for All Plan, could be marked exempt from planning permission for home conversion.
Under the rules, such a premises would have to be vacant for two years. The latest planning data, seen by The Irish Times, shows various local authorities have now received 92 notifications for a change of use relating to vacant pubs which should provide 295 new homes when developed.
More broadly, 2023 saw 267 change of use notifications received by local authorities, almost a third of which related to disused shops, followed by services and offices premises, and with pubs accounting for 12 per cent.
“I’ve visited counties and got to see first-hand the impact of turning what was once a vacant pub into five or six new apartments,” said Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien. “It makes sense to provide the exemptions and to make it easier for people to convert commercial buildings into high quality, forever homes.”
According to the Department of Housing, such notifications have increased steadily since the introduction of the regulations which are due to run until 2025.
“Refurbishment and the return to use of such commercial properties not only breathes new life into cities, towns and villages but it also helps to reduce pressure on existing housing stock,” Mr O’Brien said.
According to the breakdown, Dublin City Council had the highest number of general commercial notifications at 123 between 2018 and 2023, enough potentially for 350 homes. Limerick City and County Council followed with the second highest number at 101 notifications, or enough for up to 202 new homes.
Last year, the former Connaught Bar in Charlestown, Co Mayo, which served its last pint in the mid-1990s, was finally converted into one one-bed and two two-bed apartments.
Speaking at the time, Tom Corrigan of Achill Formwork and Construction, explained the benefit of the exemption.
“We didn’t have to go through the long rigmarole of a planning application which can take months and months . . . it’s just two or three weeks after you get a decision back from the council,” he said.
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