National housing charity Threshold has officially opened its renovated regional office in Galway City centre, providing increased capacity for free appointments with its expert advisors.
The newly reopened office will serve as a dedicated hub for tenants seeking advice and support on their rental rights in a highly challenging market.
The office on Prospect Hill, Eyre Square, was officially opened on Friday, June 13, by Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, James Browne T.D., alongside local stakeholders and members of Threshold’s national and regional teams.
The regional hub will also cater to private tenants in Mayo, Roscommon, Sligo, Leitrim, and Donegal.
The official opening comes as the housing charity continues to experience a high volume of queries regionally and nationwide. In the past 12 months, Threshold supported 3,211 households across Connacht and Donegal.
Of the total households already supported by Threshold in the area in the past year, the majority (2,159) are based in Galway city and county, highlighting the continued pressures in the region’s rental market.
On the same day, the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) hosted a public forum in the city, focused on rental law compliance.
The forum comes on foot of the research published by the RTB, the ESRI and the CSO, which all point to high rental inflation trends in Galway.
Recent data by the RTB has shown that as of Q4 2024, new tenancy rent levels in Galway continued to increase after eight consecutive quarters. The city has the second highest rents for new tenancies at €1,730, after Dublin City at €2,120.
Threshold has flagged the region as one of the most acutely affected by affordability issues, driven in part by a lack of available rented housing and continued high housing demand.
The timing of the office launch underscores the urgency of the housing situation in the county and wider region.
Minister Browne said, “This is really important timing for my visit to Galway today with Threshold, during a week when we have announced the introduction of a national rent control for the entire country.”
“Our aim is to essentially simplify the operation of rent controls in Ireland and ensure that tenants, regardless of what county they live in, are offered rent control protections.”
“This week we additionally announced that we will significantly restrict ‘no fault’ evictions. These changes will further enhance the current provision of tenancies of unlimited duration, with the introduction of rolling tenancies of a minimum of six-years.”
Threshold plays a key and incredibly valuable role in supporting tenants from Galway to Dublin to understand and to assert their rights as tenants.”
“This renovated office space is a really positive step in ensuring that renters in Galway city and county as well as surrounding counties will have greater access to expert advice and support.”
“In that work, I look forward to continuing to collaborate with John Mark and the excellent team at Threshold, as well as wider stakeholders, to mitigate challenges in the sector.”
Commenting on the office opening, Threshold CEO John-Mark McCafferty added, “This reopening of Threshold’s Galway office gives us the capacity to work more closely with tenants in the region and ensure they are supported according to their needs.”
“We are seeing continued pressures facing private tenants in the West and Northwest, with increased demand for affordable housing, and increasing rents, some of which are in breach of rent regulations and over the limits in place under Rent Pressure Zone legislation.”
“Threshold’s Western Regional office in Galway will be an important resource for tenants in the region, who can be assured that they will receive free, expert-led advice and support for queries regarding their tenancy.”
“We look forward to continuing to work with the Department, Galway City and County Councils, other statutory agencies and NGO partners to try and ensure the private rental sector is more affordable, tenancies are protected and homelessness is prevented.”
The Galway office is the second regional base opened by Threshold this year, following the launch of its new Midwest office in Limerick last month.
These office launches form part of Threshold’s national strategy to ensure private renters across the country have better access to critical support services.
To commence with, Threshold’s Galway office will open to the public on Monday, June 30th 2025, with public consultations by appointment available from 9:30am to 4pm every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.
The renovation of the Galway office was made possible by a generous bequest from the late Mr. Chris O’Dea, whose lasting legacy of support is honoured with a dedicated room in his memory.
Additionally, Threshold will continue to hold appointments at the Ard Family Resource Centre on Doughiska Road in Galway City every Wednesday and in the Westside Resource Centre on Seamus Quirke Road every Friday, between 9am and 5pm.
