Latest news with #HarryBarrett
Irish Independent
15 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
Castlebar declares housing emergency as supply has ‘dried up and rents have increased astronomically'
The Irish Independent speaks to Castlebar-based county councillor Harry Barrett about the 'housing emergency' gripping Mayo's county town Today at 07:45 With a population of just over 13,000 people, Castlebar is the geographic, administrative and commercial heart of Mayo. It is not the most expensive postcode in the county. With some three- or four-beds now fetching over €500,000, Westport is – and will remain – the most expensive place to live in Mayo.
Irish Independent
17 hours ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
Castlebar has just declared a housing emergency
The Irish Independent speaks to Castlebar-based county councillor Harry Barrett about the 'housing emergency' gripping Mayo's county town Today at 06:07 With a population of just over 13,000 people, Castlebar is the geographic, administrative and commercial heart of Mayo. It is not the most expensive postcode in the county. With some three- or four beds now fetching over €500,000, Westport is – and will remain – the most expensive place to live in Mayo.
RTÉ News
26-05-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
Castlebar residents 'very angry' over dereliction in town
Castlebar residents are 'very angry' over a number of prominent buildings lying derelict it the town centre, including Mayo's most historic building - where the Land League was founded in 1879. Twenty-six properties were listed on Castlebar's derelict sites register last year, while Co Mayo had more than 250 derelict sites in total. "We've got four prime properties just off the main street in Castlebar," Independent Councillor Harry Barrett said, referring to a row of derelict properties on Ellison Street. "You can see the grills hanging off the roof to stop the slates coming down. These properties should have been developed ten years ago." The Ellison Street properties have been taken over by Mayo County Council, but due to design issues a recent application to turn them into social housing units was not supported by the Department of Housing. "We needed the money for this years ago," Cllr Barrett said. He added that construction on the new units was due to begin last November. Instead, he lamented, the vacant buildings remain an eyesore in the centre of Castlebar. "People in the town are very angry about it, councillors are getting multiple calls about it," Cllr Barret said. "We need to push on. It's not acceptable." A spokesperson for Mayo County Council told RTÉ's News at One that it is seeking a new planning permission for 13 social housing units at the Ellison Streets sites. Another prominent derelict building is the former Imperial Hotel on the mall - the central green space in Castlebar town. Michael Davitt founded the Land League there nearly 150 years ago, making it one of Mayo's most historic buildings. "We've been covering the story of the Imperial for over 15 years now," said Tom Kelly, editor of the Connaught Telegraph. The former hotel was purchased by the council in 2011, but has since fallen into dereliction. Plans by property developers to turn it into a hotel again have fallen through. "It's very annoying for people who have pride in Castlebar," Mr Kelly said. "The Imperial Hotel has become a monument to the failure to address the dereliction problem here," he added. Mayo County Council said it planned to revert to an earlier proposal to turn the building into a local innovation hub. The housing crisis is hitting Castlebar from all angles. The Castlebar municipal district said 437 housing units were needed to accommodate those currently on the housing list. Mayo County Council said that as of last week there were 49 families from the Castlebar area living in emergency accommodation. Many of these are understood to be in a homeless hub in Charlestown. Castlebar has now met the criteria to be declared a rent pressure zone by Minister for Housing James Browne. This comes as rents in the Mayo town have increased by double digits. "Castlebar is a good town with good jobs," auctioneer Marian Moran said. However, the lack of supply is pushing rents up by 20% a year. "A two-bedroom apartment will command €1,500 a month. One-bedroom will get €1,300-1,400 if it's good, and if it's town centre." On the building side, Ms Moran said: "We don't see that many new houses coming on stream. Even the price of the second-hand houses have gone up dramatically." She added that the cost of building materials and lack of funding were preventing all but a few builders from operating. Cllr Barrett called for greater autonomy for local councils and municipal districts in tackling dereliction. "We need emergency powers with dereliction in this county. There are people holding onto buildings in this county for 20 or 30 years and nothing is being said to them. "If I'm telling people they have to go to homeless shelters in Charlestown, something has to be done with dereliction," he said.
Irish Independent
01-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Independent
There's more people on the electoral register in County Mayo than are eligible to vote
According to research by An Coimisiún Toghcháin, Mayo had one of the eight least accurate electoral registers of any local authority. Mayo County Council was one of over eleven which had more people on their electoral register than are eligible to vote. An Coimisiún Toghcháin's first Oversight Report on Ireland's Electoral Registers found that there were 'an undefined, but potentially significant, number of duplicate or redundant entries' on election registers with names of voters who had registered more than one in one local authority area, had emigrated or passed away. The commission defined an accurate electoral register as 'one in which there are no false, duplicate or incorrect entries, where all data held for an entry are correct and where each person is registered only once'. It recommended an audit of all 31 of the country's local authorities before the next round of elections in 2029. Its other recommendations include increased resources for local authority electoral register functions and increased prioritisation of the registers and multi-annual plans in local authorities. An Coimisiún Toghcháin said the level of resources local authorities have to implement the provisions of the Electoral Reform Act 2022 is 'far from sufficient to deal with the tasks required'. Castlebar-based Independent county councillor Harry Barrett told the Irish Independent that it is 'deeply concerning that County Mayo has been flagged by the Electoral Commission for having people on the voting register who may not be entitled to vote.' The Irish Independent has contacted Mayo County Council for a comment. 'Maintaining an accurate and up-to-date electoral roll is a basic function of local government,' Cllr Barrett added. 'I'm calling for immediate, time-bound action by Mayo County Council to sort this out. Our democracy is too important to let this slide.' The other seven local authorities with the least accurate election registers are Sligo, Donegal, Galway County, Cork County, Carlow and Cavan. The Department of Housing and Local Government is compiling a single national register. It is due to be completed in autumn 2026. Mayo had an electorate of 112,205 at the 2024 general election and recorded a total poll of 71,317 and a turnout of 62 percent.
