Repair works to Cork flats just ‘an exercise in kicking the can down the road’

A Cork TD has described recent internal repair work by Cork City Council to 50-plus-year-old social housing flats as “an exercise in kicking the can down the road”.

The flats are located at the Togher area, at Cherry Tree Road, Hazel Road, Sycamore Place, Maple Place, Togher Road and Clashduv Road.

The flats date back more than five decades and were built under the instruction of then city architect Eamon O’Byrne, following the same three-storey maisonette design as social housing flats at Noonan’s Road, St Finbarr’s Road, Fort Street and Dean Street.

Last September, council tenants in the Noonan’s Road area flats were told by Cork City Council that it favours rehousing tenants, demolishing the dilapidated blocks, and redeveloping the sites.

That rehousing announcement came after a tenants’ campaign last summer, highlighted by The Echo, protesting against rodent-infested, mould-ridden housing conditions subsequently described by the council’s then CEO, Ann Doherty, as “shocking”.

With tenants in the Togher flats saying they face similar issues, Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire, Sinn Féin TD for Cork South Central, last week raised the matter in the Dáil.

Issues

Noting that there had been issues with cold and damp in the flats, as well as rodent infestation in some blocks, Mr Ó Laoghaire said the flats had gone beyond their lifespan and conditions in them were not good enough.

“There have been issues with loose masonry as well, but the primary issues are cold and damp, along with deterioration of the general fabric of the buildings,” he said.

“The iron bars surrounding the balconies have rusted, become jagged and are dangerous to children because of the condition they are in.”

He added that while residents had welcomed what he called “relatively minor” recent repairs, those works had not tackled “the fact these buildings are no longer fit for purpose”.

“There is a need for complete regeneration of these complexes,” he said.

“The residents are living in conditions that are not good enough. They are taking care of the buildings to the best extent they can, but these flats are similar to the ones on Noonan’s Road, which the council has accepted should be the subject of a full regeneration.”

Deputising for Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien, Fine Gael minster of state Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said Cork City Council had informed the Department of Housing of a targeted approach of internal work in the flats at Clashduv Road, Togher Road and Sycamore Place.

Tinkering around the edges

Mr Ó Laoghaire responded that such work was “tinkering around the edges until the fundamental issue is grasped”.

“They need to be fundamentally regenerated and that is where the council, working with the Department of Housing, needs to focus its energy.

“The windows can be fixed and it will improve things for a time, which is welcome, but these flats have gone beyond their best days at this stage,” he said.

Ms Carroll MacNeill said she was familiar with examples of complete regeneration projects in Dublin.

“As regards value for money, we have to question investment in tinkering at the edges and what can be done overall,” she said.