Mixed reaction from TDs on plans to deliver 51 cost-rental homes in Cork city 

TWO Cork TDs have clashed over last week’s announcement of funding for 51 new cost-rental homes in Cork North Central, with one welcoming the development and the other saying the Government’s delivery rate was nothing to celebrate.

The development was announced last week by Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien, as part of a funding approval to deliver 547 new cost rental homes to five local authorities.

The 51 houses in Cork are in Newton Heights, Lotamore, funded by the Department of Housing for €8.6m, to be delivered in June 2025.

The homes will be let at rents starting at €1,206, which is 33% below open market. Under the cost rental scheme, rents are set at a minimum of 25% below comparable market rates for the area, with some developments achieving discounted rates of up to 50%. Cost rental homes are aimed at people on middle incomes who are constrained by rents in the private rental market, but who do not meet the income criteria for social housing support.

To qualify for cost rental housing, an applicant’s net household income must be below €66,000 per annum in Dublin and €59,000 for everywhere else. Pádraig O’Sullivan, Fianna Fáil TD for Cork North Central, said he welcomed the announcement, noting that the new homes would offer tenants the stability of 30-year leases.

“This offers a reassurance to people that they will have a roof over their heads,” he said.

Defending the Government’s Housing For All programme, Mr O’Sullivan said it was working, but it had come out of a period of financial uncertainty and would take some time to compensate for that.

“Housing For All is providing, for the first time, social-housing output that I’ve never seen before as a public representative, and the cost rental scheme has taken a bit longer to get up and running, but it is now up and running, we see several such developments across the county and city, a lot of them completed, and a number more to come,” he said.

“The way to get out of the housing emergency is to offer people different models of housing, social, affordable, cost rental, tenant-in-situ for others with the local authority, or a home loan for others.” However, Sinn Féin TD for Cork North Central, Thomas Gould, slammed the Government for its delivery rate of cost rental homes.

“The Housing Alliance have confirmed to me that there are only 27 cost rental homes in the pipeline to be delivered in Cork City this year. The minister has provided additional funding for just 51 homes in the city. These won’t be delivered this year,” he said.

“For many people who are over the threshold for social housing, but cannot afford to buy, cost rental homes are their only chance at affordable, secure accommodation.

“To put this into context, more than 900 applications were received for 32 cost-rental homes in 2022. Since then, rents and house prices have risen while we have seen very few cost rental homes delivered. The 51 homes will still not be sufficient.”