Numbers seeking one- and two-bed council houses in Co Cork now outstrips demand for larger homes
Of those on the housing list in North Cork, 580 are seeking one-bed accommodation, 841 want two-bed, while 553 have requested three-bed houses and a further 110 want four-bed homes. File picture
The number of people seeking one- and two-bed local authority homes in Co Cork is now outstripping demand for larger houses, reflecting an increase in separations and divorces.
An in-depth survey carried out by council officials on social housing needs in the North Cork region shows that 2,093 applicants are currently on the housing list.
Of those, 580 are seeking one-bed accommodation, 841 want two-bed, while 553 have requested three-bed houses and a further 110 want four-bed homes.
The remaining nine applicants, who have special needs such as disability, have sought a mixture of bed numbers.
Fianna Fáil councillor Frank O'Flynn said he was surprised so many people still remained on the housing list in the region, but wasn't surprised the numbers seeking smaller units had now outstripped those seeking larger ones.
He pointed out that this was a reflection of what was happening in Irish society.
Mr O'Flynn had sought the breakdown on house-type demand from the council's director of housing, Maurice Manning.
Mr Manning told him the council plans to provide 560 new houses this year, and in relation to the North Cork region, it has a target of providing 855 new units of varying sizes between now and 2026.
Mr O'Flynn described the projections as “very ambitious”, although extremely welcome.
The units will be built by the council itself or purchased from private developers.
Mr Manning acknowledged the nature of the housing list demand was changing and the delivery of new homes would have to reflect this going forward.
Fianna Fáil councillor Deirdre O'Brien said she could see some years ago that there was going to be a shift in demand to smaller units.
“It was coming down the tracks,” she said.
Ms O'Brien suggested that the council looked at purchasing vacant spaces over shops and villages to cater for such people.
However, Fine Gael councillor Gerard Murphy added a note of caution.
He maintained that some younger people who may be separated currently could form new relationships in the future and as such the council should design smaller units to have extra bedrooms added if required.
He said doing this now would save the taxpayer a lot of money going forward.
Problems over the lack of parking spaces in council estates were also highlighted at the council's Northern Division meeting.
Councillors said they had come across incidents of “neighbours falling out with each other” over this.
It was highlighted by Fine Gael councillors Liam Madden and Noel McCarthy, along with Fianna Fáil councillor William O'Leary.
Part of the reason seems to be due to adult children remaining in the family home longer than before because they can't afford to live elsewhere due to increasing property prices.
Mr O'Leary suggested that some older estates in particular had a lot of green space which should be utilised for parking.
Mr McCarthy said the situation was so bad in a few estates, emergency services sometimes find it difficult to get into them.
Mary Hayes, the senior executive officer for the region, said council engineers had carried out an audit and supplied costings for creating extra parking spaces in some estates.
She said the amount of work that could be undertaken would come down to how much money the council could find for these projects.
