In a busy year for the construction sector in Cork, the council's house-build targets have been exceeded by a significant 26%.

The Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Eoghan Murphy TD announced the news as part of the 2018 housing target outcomes.

The published figures have confirmed the council's commitment to delivering social housing.

Cork's target for the year was 235 units, but 295 homes were delivered overall. This level of delivery has been achieved through a combination of approaches, including the construction of houses by the local authority on its own land, the acquisition of newly built schemes through a turnkey model in partnership with developers, the delivery of units through Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000, and the construction of units by Approved Housing Bodies.

As well as exceeding delivery targets and ensuring that real progress is made in addressing the social housing waiting list, the construction activity has had the added benefit of boosting the economy in rural areas and stimulating job creation in areas which suffered a long absence of construction activity.

The Turnkey model in particular has given house builders a path back to development by injecting capital into the market and providing certainty for developers. Turnkey housing has been delivered from Youghal to Skibbereen to Kanturk, with further developments in the pipeline for 2019 and 2020, in areas such as Baltimore, Doneraile, Schull and Bantry, where the private development market has not yet fully recovered.

-- Advertisement --

Cork County Council's construction programme is also seeing the remediation of a number of long-unfinished estates in areas such as Fermoy and Rosscarbery.

Plans for 2019 are even more ambitious, with a range of schemes across the county set to deliver a total of 487 units. As the economy recovers further, it is likely that this level of construction activity will contribute to the growth of skills and capacity in the construction sector.

The programme of acquisitions has served to complement the construction programme and achieved a similarly impressive return of 106 units in 2018, 39% over target. Although construction is the main delivery mechanism for social housing, acquisitions will continue to have an important role in delivery in areas where the demand is at a level below that required to justify significant construction schemes. 

Responding to the figures, Cork County Council Chief Executive Tim Lucey said: "We are determined to facilitate the provision of suitable, cost effective high quality accommodation to meet housing needs in the county. To this end 1,293 housing units were built or acquired by the Council in the 3 years up to year end 2018."

Mr Lucey complimented the agility and ambition of the Housing Directorate and other key Council departments as well as acknowledging the support of the elected members in ensuring the delivery of an ongoing programme that will see further significant increases in output over 2019 and 2020 well beyond Government targets set for the county.

Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr Patrick Gerard Murphy went on to say: "In meeting the challenges of housing supply in the county careful planning is required. Cork County Council is always working with communities to deliver sustainable housing solutions that will meet the needs of the occupants. Quality and affordable housing are an essential foundation to healthy and strong communities and I am happy to see the positive figures released today reflecting the hard work of the council in this regard."

(JG/MH)