The commercial vacancy rate in Ireland hit a ten-year high last year, according to a new report by GeoDirectory.
GeoDirectory is Ireland's official complete database of commercial and residential buildings.
The national rate increased by 0.1 percentage points to 14% in the final quarter of last year.
In total, there were 29,581 empty commercial units across the country.
Today's report, prepared by EY, found that commercial vacancies increased in 18 out of 26 counties.
The highest commercial vacancy rate was recorded in Sligo at 19.6%, followed by Galway at 17.6% and Donegal at 17.5%.
The lowest commercial vacancy rates were recorded in Meath at 10.2%, Wexford at 10.4% and Kerry at 12.2%.
The town with the highest commercial vacancy rate was Shannon in Co Clare, after increasing by 5.9% in the 12 months to last December.
Gorey in Co Wexford and Greystones in Co Wicklow were the towns with the lowest commercial vacancy rate in the country, at 7.1% each.
"The rate of commercial vacancies is the highest level recorded by GeoDirectory since the Commercial Vacancy Rates Report began in 2013, continuing the trend of increasing rates in recent years," said Dara Keogh, Chief Executive of GeoDirectory.
"It is likely that this will continue in the short to medium term, as working-from-home becomes more formalised, combined with the growth of online retail and services, resulting in businesses requiring less physical space than previously," he added.
Looking at specific economic sectors, the figures show there was a notable drop in the number of Service and Retail and Wholesale units.
"This points to the ongoing challenges these sectors face due to evolving economic trends and geopolitical uncertainties," said Annette Hughes, Director of EY Economic Advisory Services.
The services sector, including hospitality and tourism, had the largest share of commercial sites, accounting for 49.3% of the overall total.
But it also saw the largest reduction in the number of commercial units, recording a decrease of 1,033 units, which accounted for 39% of the total reduction in commercial properties.
