‘Extend boundary or housing will dry up’

A local authority’s ability to meet housing demand could be “fundamentally compromised” unless Cork’s city boundary is extended, top city officials have warned.

And they have also called for more autonomy to make decisions at local level to speed up the delivery of social housing, and for other local authorities to use a fast-track procurement process which has worked in Cork.

Cork City Council deputy chief executive, Pat Ledwidge, and its head of housing, Valerie O’Sullivan, made the comments after their appearance before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Housing on Thursday.