Donegal outpaces comparable counties in home building despite high vacancy and dereliction
Nearly 1,000 new homes were added over the past year, but the county still has one of the highest vacancy and dereliction rates in the State
Donegal continues to outperform counties of a similar size in residential construction, despite recording one of the highest levels of vacant and derelict housing in Ireland.
The latest GeoDirectory Residential Buildings Report, prepared by EY, shows that 1,051 residential buildings were under construction in Donegal in June 2026, while 988 new residential address points were added to the GeoDirectory database during the previous 12 months.
The county also recorded 770 building commencements, placing it comfortably ahead of other counties with comparable populations.
At 1,051, Donegal's total of homes under construction exceeded Kerry (771), Mayo (677) and Tipperary (966), while the number of new addresses added over the previous 12 months (988) also outstripped Kerry (688), Mayo (562) and Tipperary (946).
Similarly, Donegal's 770 building commencements compared favourably with Kerry (642), Mayo (484) and Tipperary (503), pointing to continued momentum in residential construction.
However, the report also highlights the scale of the challenge facing the county, with Donegal continuing to record one of the highest residential vacancy rates in the State. (The rate is calculated based on vacant addresses as a proportion of the total residential stock, excluding buildings under construction and derelicts.)
Donegal's vacancy rate stood at 8.9% in June 2026, well above the national average of 3.7%. Only Leitrim (11.5%), Mayo (10.3%) and Roscommon (9.9%) recorded higher vacancy rates, placing Donegal fourth nationally.
The report identified more than 81,000 vacant residential properties across the State,
Separate figures on dereliction show that Donegal also has one of Ireland's largest concentrations of derelict homes. Derelicts differ from vacant homes in that they require structural repairs before they can be occupied and are not included in the vacancy statistics.
There were 2,182 derelict properties recorded in Donegal, accounting for 11.4% of the national total and giving the county the second-highest number of derelict homes in the State.
By contast, Donegal County Council's derelict property register, last updated in November 2025, lists just 12 properties: five in Letterkenny and one each in Ballyshannon, Bridgend, Buncrana, Cloghan, Glencolmcille, Fanad and Kilcar.
While the latest Geo-Directory figures indicate strong construction activity across Donegal, they also underline the continuing challenge of bringing thousands of vacant and derelict properties back into use to help meet housing demand.