We are in the middle of a housing crisis where so many struggle to find safe and affordable homes. Yet, in 2024, more than 80 000 buildings were declared vacant, including over 20 000 derelict properties registered (Just for the residential lands)* and the census of 2022 reported 160 000 vacant dwellings**. Meanwhile, in 2024, the government recorded more 15 000 people experiencing homelessness***. These numbers don’t add up!
Those abandoned buildings – empty, falling apart, overlooked, derelict have become part of the landscape, almost invisible.
The focus of this project is to bring these building back into focus by giving them a voice that echoes the experiences of those affected by the housing crisis. It aims to show the urgency and injustice of the situation.
Housing is not a luxury nor a commodity. Housing is a basic human right. We must acknowledge the unfairness of this situation. Things need to change.
Project website: dontletmefallapart.com
* Source: GeoDirectory database established by An Post and Tailte Éireann
** Source: CSO Central Statistics Office
*** Source: Government of Ireland’s Department of Housing and FOCUS Ireland. Number excludes those “in ‘own-door’ temporary accommodation, domestic violence refuges, asylum seekers, people who are sleeping rough, and the very many who are ‘hidden homeless’ and staying with family or friends in insecure housing” (FOCUS Ireland).
