Up to 282,000 new homes needed in Cork

BETWEEN 144,000 and 282,000 new dwellings are expected to be required in Cork by 2050, according to a report prepared by the Housing Commission.

The Housing Commission has estimated that, as of the 2022 Census, there was a housing deficit of between 212,500 and 256,000 homes in Ireland.

Cork makes up 11.3% of Ireland’s total population according to the same Census, so population adjustment would mean Cork was short between 24,000 and 29,000 homes.

And the problem is set to get worse, as the report suggests that Cork city, along with Limerick, Galway, and Waterford cities, is intended to grow by over 50% by 2040 — more than double the rate of Dublin.

An analysis of projected regional population distributions in 2050 and associated housing requirements under two different scenarios suggests just how many new dwellings are required under two scenarios.

In Cork city, where there were 83,000 dwellings as of 2022, an additional 31,000 will be required by 2050 under Scenario A, and 89,000 under Scenario B, which predicts a larger population and a higher urbanisation.

In Cork county, 128,000 dwellings in 2022 would need to increase by 113,000 under Scenario A and 193,000 under Scenario B, meaning that a total of between 144,000 and 282,000 additional dwellings are required to be built in the 28-year period between 2022 and 2050.

'CHRONIC UNDERSUPPLY'

The report states “the current experience in Ireland is one of chronic undersupply”, and that current housing delivery is far below ongoing housing requirements.

Examining affordable housing, the commission stated “the continued and enhanced role of local authorities as housing authorities is vital in ensuring an effective and sustainable housing system in Ireland”. Cork city had the second-highest number of social housing dwellings owned by local authorities at just over 10,000, lower than Dublin city but higher than the two other Dublin constituencies and constituencies elsewhere in the country.

In Cork county, there are around 75,000 social housing dwellings owned by local authorities, the fourth highest amount out of the 31 local authorities.

Between 2011 and 2020, annual social housing output as a percentage of need was lowest in the operational areas of almost all the main urban local authorities, including Cork City and Cork County.

The social housing output as a percentage of need was just over 4% in Cork city and just below 6% in Co Cork, considerably below counties such as Carlow, Kilkenny, Monaghan and Sligo which all had about 10% output.

Sinn Fein TD for Cork North Central Thomas Gould told The Echo that the report was “a shocking indictment of the Government’s failure”.

“Social housing levels in Cork city didn’t even get to 5% of what was needed,” he said, explaining that “families with children are spending 10 years waiting for a house, and by then their childhoods are gone.”