City councillors to seek urgent meeting with new housing minister 

Cork city councillors are to vote this Monday on a motion to call on the new minister for housing to attend a Cork City Council meeting as soon as possible.

Sinn Féin councillor for the South West ward, Joe Lynch, will bring a motion to Monday’s council meeting calling on the new Minister for Housing, James Browne, to appear before the council to discuss the city’s housing crisis at the earliest opportunity.

Mr Lynch said he believed the previous government had left a “disastrous legacy” in terms of housing.

“The failure to deliver an adequate supply of homes at affordable prices is tragic, and the impact can be seen across Cork city; from Ballincollig to Ballyvolane.

“This has made it impossible for those who have grown up in communities across the city to buy or to rent homes where they’ve spent their entire lives.”

He added: “We were promised 40,000 homes would be built across the State in 2024; which has proven to be a work of fiction.”

Mr Lynch explained that in 2025, house prices are expected to rise by 8% across Cork city according to a recently published survey by the Real Estate Alliance, and highlighted that the most recent statistics show record levels of people accessing emergency accommodation in Cork.

“We are in the midst of a crisis, warranting a crisis response,” he said. “The overriding objective must be to build homes at the scale required and make homes more affordable for ordinary workers and families.”

He added that councillors need to hear from the minister on how he plans to deliver the homes needed, make them affordable, and reduce homelessness in the city.

A similar motion is set to be tabled at the meeting by Labour’s Peter Horgan which calls on the council to invite the ministers for transport, justice and housing for engagement on Cork city-specific issues.