Social Affairs

Inside Story podcast: Dublin’s 21,000 empty homes

There are reasons, if not excuses, why so many residences go unused despite acute shortage

Justin Morahan, Dublin, outside Apollo House, a vacant Nama-owned property in Dublin city centre which has been taken over by “concerned citizens” including personalities and is being used to accommodate homeless people. Photograph: Alan Betson/The Irish Times
Justin Morahan, Dublin, outside Apollo House, a vacant Nama-owned property in Dublin city centre which has been taken over by “concerned citizens” including personalities and is being used to accommodate homeless people. Photograph: Alan Betson/The Irish Times
Declan Conlon
Sat Dec 17 2016 - 08:00

There are 21,000 vacant residences in Dublin city, but this weekend activists have felt the need to appropriate an empty office block to house the homeless in the capital as lack of supply sends rents soaring.

How has it come to this? Our Dublin Correspondent Olivia Kelly has been investigating.

For more on this story, pick up The Irish Times this weekend or check here on irishtimes.com.

You can find more information about Irish Times podcasts here.

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Tweet about the podcast to: @hlinehan

Declan Conlon

Declan Conlon

Declan Conlon is head of audio at The Irish Times