'The amount of vacant housing all over Cork City... it defies logic' 

Residents of Rathmore Park gathered to protest at the number of vacant council houses in the area

John Cooney and Billy Crowley joined residents of Sutton's and Roche's Buildings at a protest in Rathmore Park, Cork, to highlight the issue of vacant local authority houses in the area. Picture: Dan Linehan

A “crime against humanity” is how one Cork resident described some 20 empty houses in his immediate neighbourhood during a protest against vacancy and the housing crisis.

John Murphy counted 16 vacant houses in the terrace where he lives alone, Roche's Buildings near Blackpool, in September. 

"The amount of vacant housing all over Cork City and people begging for housing, some people sleeping on the streets — it defies logic." 

"It’s an insult to humanity, it’s a crime against humanity," he said.

"With the housing crisis it’s a shocking disgrace that so many are idle.

I hope protests like this grow to send a message to the regime."

Fellow local Paul O’Leary said: “It beggars belief. Kids have no homes and houses are lying idle. Just here alone there are 20 [vacant]. How many are there across the city?

"There’s a girl [a woman] sleeping under the bridge [in Blackpool, Cork City] for the last couple of weeks. How glad would she be to have a home? 

"My worry is for Christmas coming up and people sleeping in the cold."

63-week turnaround time unacceptable

People Before Profit TD Mick Barry said the average 63-week turnaround time for council property in Cork City is unacceptable. 

People Before Profit TD Mick Barry said Monday's protest was 'not a once-off' and he encouraged people concerned about vacancy in their areas to contact him if they also wanted to protest. Picture: Dan Linehan

He said if the council was under-resourced, he would fight to have them adequately resourced.

"There needs to be a real sense of urgency here," he said at the protest on Goldsmith's Avenue.

There are 5,000 vacant local authority houses in the State and on the last count, there were more than 400 vacant local authority houses in Cork City. This is happening at a time when we have the biggest housing crisis in the history of the State. 

"Cork City council has 171 properties in Roche's Buildings and Sutton's Buildings and there’s a high level of vacancy within those properties." 

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Mr Barry said Monday's protest was "not a once-off" and he encouraged people concerned about vacancy in their areas to contact him if they also wanted to protest.

Another local resident, Maurice Daly, said houses were often lying empty for years before they were let out again. "It’s a shame to see them going idle. Lovely new furniture has gone into them and there are loads of people to be housed. There was an elderly man on the radio, he's 72, he said he’d be homeless, and there are houses locked up up here. Why don't they put him into one of them?"