Cork County Council is expected to exceed its Rebuilding Ireland social housing target with the delivery of 156 new units by the end of the year.

Approximately 65 units are currently under construction with a further 450 approaching the build stage. Developments underway include 49 units at Kilnagleary Carrigaline, seven at Masseytown, Macroom and nine in Cloyne. 

The new build homes, together with 50 targeted for acquisition and units delivered through the Capital Assistance Scheme, leasing and Part V will add 462 new units to social housing stock in the Cork County area by the end of the year.

Cork County Council is also running a week-long information campaign to highlight its ongoing work in providing social housing solutions and facilitating increased building in the public and private sector. 

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Cork County Council's Director of Housing, Maurice Manning said: "Progress is being made on the housing supply issue. We are adding to the stock we have available for social housing by delivering new units and by acquiring or leasing existing units. In the last three years, Cork County Council and the Assisted Housing Body sector have provided 1,293 homes for use as public housing. That brings the total number of units available to social housing tenants in the county to 9,800.

"We are determined to get this right; the homes we are building are quality homes and we are developing them with the needs of the occupants and the community in mind.

"Cork County Council wants to assure people living in the county that it is working to solve the housing issue. We want to make people aware of the actions the local authority is taking to do that in the right way and we also want to alert people to the various ways in which we are working to build new units and bring vacant properties back to life."

He added: "We are building social housing units, we are supporting the housing bodies to build and we are also facilitating and stimulating building in the private sector. Cork County Council processed 1,831 planning applications for new build developments last year and works with private builders to ensure connectivity to essential services and infrastructure.

"We have to tackle the housing supply situation and we have to tackle it in the right way. That means careful planning; working with communities to ensure sustainability and design that will last the test of time and meet the needs of occupants."

(CM/MH)