Councillor calls for €1,000 tax on holiday homes to support rural Leitrim

Councillor says revenue could help fund schools and restore old houses as population decline threatens local communities.

Leitrim councillor Justin Warnock has called for a €1,000 tax on holiday homes in the county to support local services.

According to the 2022 census, there are 1,700 holiday homes in Leitrim, with the national figure rising sharply by 8% to 67,000.

“It’s been a thorn in my side for a long time to see all these holiday homes across the county and across the country, with nobody in them from year to year. And we’re in a housing crisis,” said Warnock.

“I believe that the holiday homes that are there are a luxury for the people who own them. It’s their second home, and in some cases they have many of these homes all across the world. They’re of no real benefit; they add nothing to the local economy.”

Cllr. Justin Warnock, speaking on Ocean FM, said he believes that a €1,000 tax would be a small step to support local schools and to attract young families back to rural areas in the county, which have been heavily affected by population decline.

“It would help small schools, because we have 10 or 15 schools in Leitrim that are very vulnerable to closure over the next five or ten years.”

He added: “People want to live in the bigger towns, and we’ve seen that in Leitrim. As I said, we’re in decline, and this could be a brake on it. It could also be an incentive to get our young people back.”

Warnock suggested that the approximately €1.7 million generated from such a tax could be used to fund grants to renovate old houses in rural Leitrim for returning families.