‘Nine long-term vacant homes for every homeless adult’ in Cork

AS the number of homeless adults in Cork exceeded 500 for the 12th month in succession, a new report has revealed there are nine long-term vacant homes for each adult seeking emergency accommodation in Cork.

The report, published by Cork Simon, showed that 17,055 vacant properties were recorded in Cork on Census Night 2022, with almost 5,000 homes described as long-term vacant.

Almost 3,000 of the vacant properties were rental properties, and 650 of these were also vacant on Census Night 2016.

The report, entitled ‘Home Truths — Vacant Homes in Cork’ provides an analysis of Census 2022 data which paints a stark picture of the long-term vacancy and dereliction rates in the city and county.

The report’s author, Sophie Johnston, described the number of long-term vacant homes in the context of the current homelessness crisis as “grim”.

“One in every three vacant homes in Cork city and county has been vacant for at least seven years,” she said. “That’s equal to nine long-term vacant homes for every adult in emergency accommodation in Cork.”

She said these figures point to a potential to house the homeless.

“The long-term vacancy count gives an indication of the number of vacant homes that could potentially be brought back into use rather than possibly progressing to dereliction and beyond use,” she said.

The 2,954 vacant rental properties represented a “real concern” to Cork Simon, the report author stated.

“As our first Home Truths paper earlier this year highlighted, single households are the majority in emergency accommodation,” she said.

“They depend on the private rented market for a speedy exit from homelessness.”

The report also explores the views of homeless people on the issue.

‘Barry’, who is using homeless services in Cork, said we should be learning from how other countries address vacant properties.

“Other European countries sustain and maintain their assets, especially in Germany,” he said.

“They set a different bar for themselves for the maintenance of their own country. Why not… set that bar for ourselves and then nothing else should be acceptable.”

‘Vacant Homes in Cork’ is the second paper in Cork Simon’s Home Truths series, which aims to offer insights into different aspects and experiences of homelessness in the south-west.