42 notices to convert commercial properties into homes have been received by Galway local authorities since 2018.
18 notices have been received by the City Council to create 52 homes, while the County Council has received 24 notices to create 76 homes.
The majority of these notices were received in 2024, during what was a record year nationally for the planning exemption scheme.
Introduced in 2018, the scheme removed the requirement for planning permission for the conversion of certain types of commercial properties into residential units.
Since then, almost 1,500 planning exemptions were received by local authorities to create more than 3,429 homes.
In 2022, the exemption was extended to allow vacant pubs to be converted into homes, and since then, 154 notices have been issued to create 459 new homes.
Seven of those notices were issued across Galway city and county, with the potential to create 17 new homes.
