Cork County Council seeks to change rules on home builds

The Department of Housing is to be urged to let local authorities build council houses with downstairs bathrooms and bedrooms so they are readily usable for tenants who become disabled or too frail for stairs.

Cork County Council is to write to the department seeking permission to design at least 15% of new council homes to cater for such needs.

Councillors unanimously backed a motion by Independent councillor John Paul O’Shea who, quoting the CSO figures, said around 7% of the population had some disability or frailty, yet local authorities were not being allowed to design new homes which would facilitate them.