Mayo housing official calls for boycott of holiday homeowners

Vivienne Clarke

Tom Gilligan, a senior Mayo housing official, has defended his call for a boycott of holiday homeowners.

Mr Gilligan is the the director of services with responsibility for housing, roads, procurement, efficiency and services development with Mayo County Council.

“We are in the middle of a housing crisis. It’s very important that we look at all options, nothing is off the table,” Mr Gilligan told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland.

When asked if he regretted his use of the word ‘boycott’ in the email he sent to of the local authority’s Housing SPC, he said he did not.

“The word boycott has been around since the 19th century. It originated in Mayo. Governments have used it, individuals have used it to try and bring pressure in order to get things done.

“Nothing is off the table and we are looking at a number of options in relation to Mayo. We're looking at the whole idea in relation to a holiday home tax, we're looking in relation to compulsory purchase orders.”

Mr Gilligan explained that he had sent the email to of the council’s Housing Strategic Policy Committee which is made up of 11 , seven elected councillors and four non-elected .

“So I emailed them a proposal on Sunday night in relation to the whole idea of dealing with holiday homes and vacant holiday homes. According to the 2022 census, there are 5,987 holiday homes in Mayo. And in the middle of a housing crisis, we need homes for people, not just for seasons. So the objective around this proposed boycott Is to highlight the impact of underused housing stock on local communities, encourage policy reform and taxation measures on vacant second homes. And also as well to push holiday homeowners to either return properties for sale to the rental market or to the long-term rental market.

I'm not trying to demonise holiday homeowners here.

“I'm not trying to demonise holiday homeowners here. I'm not trying to blame anyone in relation to this, but we are in the middle of a housing crisis. We have people that are on our housing list, we have people that currently have been provided temporary emergency accommodation. And we have nearly 6,000 holiday homes here that are vacant either nine, 10, or 11 months of the year. And people are welcome to Mayo. I mean, from a tourism point of view, it's absolutely vital that we get people coming into the town.”

Mr Gilligan pointed out that the word boycott was synonymous with Mayo because of Captain Boycott, who he described as an absentee landlord.

“The local community at the time took it upon themselves to try a form of civil protest. It's very important that we should never doubt that a small group of thoughtful and committed citizens can change the world.”

Mr Gilligan said his proposal was about “demanding ability” from holiday homeowners.

“It is about trying to get these underutilized, vacant, empty homes back into use.”