Seven Elysians 'needed every year' in Cork to meet housing needs, says CIF

Equivalent of seven Elysians needed every year in Cork to address housing needs, says the Construction Industry Federation. Picture: Eddie O'Hare

The equivalent of seven Elysian Towers will need to be built in Cork every year for the next 11 years to meet ambitious population growth targets, Ireland's construction industry has warned.

Speaking ahead of Thursday's's Southern Region Construction Summit, the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) said just 732 new homes were delivered in Cork city last year, highlighting the scale of the challenge. 

They warned the current system, whereby up to 30% of the price of a house goes on taxation and fees was unsustainable.

Seán Carrigy, director of construction firm PJ Hegarty and the chair of the CIF Southern Region, said there was a danger they wouldvnot be able to deliver anywhere near the levels of housing now required and that the financials don’t work when it comes to delivering apartments.

Project Ireland 2040 envisages the population of Cork cty and its suburbs increasing by up to 125,000 people over the next 20 years.

To accommodate this growth we will need to build in the order of 2,750 homes per annum in the city," Mr Carrigy said.

"This will be bordering on the impossible because 50% of this growth will need to be housed in existing urban and brownfield sites. That essentially means we will have to build 1,375 apartments per annum in the city centre. That equates to delivering seven Elysians per year for the next 11 years in the city centre."

"The danger is that our industry will not be able to deliver anywhere near the levels required and the entire strategy will collapse in the coming years and undermine Project Ireland 2040 entirely."

The CIF wants the Government to address the cost of homebuilding where they say soft costs such as taxation, levies, finance and fees equate to over 30% of the price of new homes.