Four out of five businesses in Galway believe that a lack of accommodation is impacting on their ability to hire staff.
That was the result of a new survey conducted by Galway Chamber on the impact of the housing crisis on the local business community.
For local businesses in the tech sector as many as 9 in 10 are finding their hiring practices affected by the limited supply of housing.
70% of Galway businesses also say the low level of housing is impacting their ability to retain staff.
While more than half of businesses in Galway (56%) say that accommodation issues are ‘regularly’ cited by potential hires when considering a role with their business, with an additional 1 in 8 businesses saying that issue is ‘always’ mentioned.
72% of businesses in Galway say potential hires or existing staff have cited the inability to find accommodation since the turn of the year.
Some 77% say existing staff or potential new hires have said rent locally is too expensive during the same period and a further 54% have been told by staff or potential hires there are no properties for rent in their price range.
Two in 5 businesses have been told that there are no properties for sale in their price range, while 36% say staff or potential hires have cited the poor quality of available accommodation.
Almost 1 in 5 (18%) of Galway businesses say that staff or new hires have told them that they are looking at other professional opportunities due to better accommodation options.
As a result of the accommodation shortage, 7 out of 10 Galway businesses say they have reduced their hiring targets for the next 12 months, while 55% say they are concerned about retaining staff over that same period.
85% of Galway businesses also said that if public transport to Galway’s commuter towns was more frequent or reliable it would assist their hiring and retention efforts.
The survey was conducted by Galway Chamber over two weeks in early April 2023. Just over 200 businesses from across Galway City and County participated.
Speaking about the survey results, Galway Chamber CEO Kenny Deery said the housing crisis is having a real impact on business in Galway and the local business environment.
“The problems people are facing finding accommodation for themselves and their families are making it increasingly difficult for our local businesses to secure and retain staff.
“These aren’t isolated stories, this has become the norm and it is impacting businesses of all shapes and sizes – from start-ups to multinationals and from tech and pharma businesses to professional services and retail. Everyone is feeling the accommodation pinch.”
Mr Deery said that if we want to keep investment flowing west, then this issue needs to be tackled.
“We must find solutions – both in the short term and the medium term because otherwise businesses and their staff will suffer. All options for addressing this issue need to be on the table.
“That means enabling sites of development potential to advance, improving the public transport network to better serve the commuter towns with sustainable transport as well as targeted measures that will deliver more immediate results by freeing up vacant rooms and buildings across Galway.”
