€200 million for local authority housing will reduce waiting lists in Cork and create jobs – Buttimer

Wednesday, 1st April 2015

• €200 million allocated for local authority housing in Cork.
• Funding forms part of the Government’s €3.8 billion social housing strategy announced last November. 

In Cork, over €200 million has been allocated to the City and County Councils for local authority housing. This will greatly reduce waiting lists and provides hope for the thousands of families who are waiting for suitable housing.

Cork City Council is to receive €124 million for local authority housing which is expected to meet 21% of housing needs in the City. The County area is to receive over €80 million, which is expected to meet 25% of the total demand. This is not even including the Housing Assistance Payment which will help to further reduce demand on our housing waiting list.

Along with all local authorities, both Councils in Cork have been asked to bring forward the housing unit targets and specific building projects it has planned for now to 2017. As part of the strategy, targets had to be agreed with each local authority in 2015. It is expected that this funding will help create 2,566 housing units in Cork City and County.

In total across the country, over €1.5 billion will be invested in a combination of building, buying and leasing schemes by local authorities designed to accommodate 25% of those currently on the housing waiting lists in social housing. Approximately 300 separate building proposals by local authorities are currently being assessed by the Department of Environment and will be announced in a number of phases starting this month. Construction is already underway for social housing in approximately 33 sites throughout the country.

Across Cork this funding will help to create and sustain approximately 1,600 jobs in the construction sector which was so badly affected by the economic crash of recent years. This is a really important part of the Government’s plan to spread job creation and economic recovery to all counties around Ireland so that everyone can feel the benefit.