Council identified 8 sites which may be suitable for the Ready to Build scheme

Cork County Council has confirmed that it has identified eight sites already in council ownership which may be suitable for the Ready to Build Scheme.

Liam Ahearn, a senior engineer with Cork County Council, provided the update on the rollout of the scheme to councillors at yesterday’s full council meeting following a motion from Fine Gael councillors John Paul O’Shea and Caroline Cronin.

“Cork County Council have identified eight sites already in council ownership which may be potentially suitable for the Ready to Build Scheme,” said Mr Ahearn.

“We are currently engaging with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage [DHLGH] to clarify aspects of how the scheme is to operate so we can advance our assessment of these sites. 

"Cork County Council will be engaging with DHLGH in August to try and progress some sites under the ready to build scheme on a pilot basis.”

Ms Cronin said the rollout would be a ‘game-changer’.

“The rollout of the ready to build scheme would be a game-changer for many in Cork county,” said Ms Cronin. “These sites provide fully serviced plots of land that effectively reduce time and costs for individuals, couples, and families who earn too much to quality for social housing but are unable to afford property.”

Mr O’Shea welcomed the response from the engineer.

“A lot of villages and towns across Cork county would benefit from this scheme in terms of having connections to services and having their sites ready to go,” said Mr O’Shea. 

“I welcome the response from Liam Ahearn. I hope we can advance on that and go even further.”

Fine Gael councillor John O’Sullivan said it is critically important that young people get a chance to get a house and to get a start in life.

Council chief executive Tim Lucey said clarity is needed on a number of issues.

“I would welcome a letter from the council to our parent department seeking clarity on a number of matters and then we can move ahead and potentially advertise,” said Mr Lucey. “The sites are intended to be fully serviced by the local authority. We need clarity on this. We also need clarity on the role of Uisce Éireann.

“There is a need for us to receive more clarity from the department on a range of issues around the service site scheme and we would be well able to move ahead with it if that was the case.”

It was decided that a letter would be sent.