More than 120 Cork City Council owned properties waiting longer than a year for repair 

Almost 130 council-owned properties are waiting longer than a year for repair in Cork, with almost 90% of them on the northside, in what a local TD has called “state-sponsored neglect”.

Data supplied to Sinn Féin councillor for the North West Ward Kenneth Collins by Cork City Council’s Housing Operations Directorate showed that 44 of these are in the North East Ward; 72 in North West; seven in South Central; three in South East and three in South West.

The 129 total includes 19 properties waiting more than 36 months, all of which are on the northside with the majority in the North West ward.

Mr Collins told The Echo: “It’s appalling that city council are taking so long to repair these properties on the northside so they can be put back into stock.”

Pointing out the 16 properties waiting more than 36 months in his ward, Mr Collins was critical that no breakdown was given for exactly how long these have been on the list.

“There’s one around the corner from my house that’s definitely been waiting five to six years for repairs.”

A council spokesperson clarified that the 129 properties were from an overall stock of 10,800, saying: “15-18 properties are vacated by tenants each month that are required to be repaired and returned to stock, representing between 180 and 216 void properties each year.

“There are more properties vacated in the NE and NW wards each month.

“A total of 208 properties were returned for allocation in 2023 and this figure is expected to increase to 250 properties in 2024. 

“The city council has also seen a reduction in turnaround times for void properties by 57% from over 75 weeks in 2021 to 32 weeks in 2023.

“It is important to recognise that Cork City Council prioritises the return of properties with the least work required with the aim of returning the maximum number of houses each year. 

“This can lead to properties requiring extensive repairs, such as fire damaged houses, requiring longer return times.”

Sinn Féin TD for Cork North Central Thomas Gould said the figures “paint a stark reality” of the treatment of the northside by council.

“This is concrete proof that the neglect of the northside is not a Sinn Féin myth, as Fianna Fáil would have people believe — but is instead the undeniable truth,” he told The Echo. 

“90% of homes vacant longer than 12 months in Cork city are on the northside. These homes are owned by the council and there are people who want to live in them. Instead they are left to fall further and further into disrepair.

“There is not one home on the southside left vacant for over three years. There are 19 on the northside. That imbalance is scandalous.

“The council trying to claim that homes on the northside are in worse states of disrepair shows exactly what they think of our communities.”

Mr Gould said the main reason homes on the Northside are in any worse condition was “because they receive less housing maintenance.”

“When I visit areas like The Glen, Farranree, Knocknaheeny, and Mayfield I meet countless people who are doing their best to keep their homes in decent condition but are waiting years for the council to carry out important maintenance work.”