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THE HSE HAS 234 vacant properties under its control, an increase on the amount it held this time last year.
Of the 234 vacant properties in the control of the HSE as of 28 February 2025, 93 are deemed “surplus to requirement” and in various stages of disposal.
Some 38 of the 234 vacant properties are under review by the HSE, meaning they are being considered for retention, reuse or disposal.
The remaining 103 of the 234 vacant properties across the country are considered “retained assets” by the HSE, meaning that they are vacant but are being kept for varying reasons, including for future use.
The figures were released by the HSE in response to a parliamentary question from Fianna Fáil TD for Wicklow-Wexford Malcolm Byrne.
Byrne told The Journal he is frustrated over the level of vacant properties held by the HSE and the “slow pace at which they are dealing with these unused assets”.
“For over 11 years, for example, there has been a fine building in Camolin, Co Wexford left vacant – it used to be a health centre – and every effort to get it back into use has failed because of HSE inaction,” he said.
The health centre in Camolin has been vacant since it closed in 2014.
The number of vacant properties held by the HSE has increased in the last 12 months.
An internal audit conducted by the HSE last year found that the number of vacant properties in its possession can fluctuate over time.
For example, there were 278 vacant properties in February 2022, dropping to 183 in February 2024 before rising again to 205 in April 2024.
The HSE has circa 4,400 buildings across circa 2,600 locations in its possession across the country.
At the end of last year, Social Democrats TD and now acting leader Cian O’Callaghan said the HSE must outline why it is sitting on over 200 vacant properties in the middle of a housing crisis.
“It also raises the wider question of how many vacant properties owned by State bodies are lying empty around the country,” he said.
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