'Issues have not all been fixed': 1,200 maintenance requests from three housing estates on Cork's northside in three years

Cork City Council received a total of 1,201 requests for maintenance in just three social housing estates in Knocknaheeny in the last three years, with 145 jobs not yet completed.

Sinn Féin councillor for the north-west ward Michelle Gould requested data on the number of maintenance requests received for homes in Killala Gardens, Dunmore Gardens, and Kilmore Rd in each of the last three years.

She also requested data on the number currently marked as “open” or “active”, and the average amount spent per maintenance request in each of the last three years.

At last Monday’s council meeting, Ms Gould was provided with data showing that there were 487 job requests from the three estates in 2022, 428 in 2023, and 286 in 2024.

In Killala Gardens, there was a total of 628 job requests; 253 in 2022, 226 in 2023, and 149 in 2024.

In Dunmore Gardens, there were 256 requests in total; 102 in 2022, 87 in 2023, and 70 in 2024.

Meanwhile, in Kilmore Rd, there were 132 requests in 2022, 115 in 2023, and 70 in 2024, a total of 317.

There are currently 61 jobs listed as “active” in Kilmore Rd, 53 in Dunmore Gardens, and 31 in Killala Gardens, the council responded.

Ms Gould described the figures as “an absolute disgrace”, telling The Echo: “Residents are telling me loud and clear that the maintenance issues have not all been fixed.

“From what I’m hearing on the doorsteps, homes are still in poor condition. Many families feel completely let down.”

Ms Gould also highlighted the unacceptable delays in the regeneration project for the area, saying that families have been left in limbo for far too long.

“The regeneration of Knocknaheeny was promised years ago. For many residents, it’s been nothing but delay after delay.

“People deserve to live in warm, safe, and secure homes — not to be waiting endlessly for basic improvements,” she added.

Ms Gould has requested that Cork City Council clarify the status of completed maintenance jobs, to prioritise outstanding works without further delay, and to provide a clear timeline for the next phase of regeneration.

The council’s acting director of housing, Nicky Carroll, told Ms Gould: 

“It is not possible to provide the average amount spent per maintenance request specific to the estates mentioned.”

However, Mr Carroll provided details in regard to the overall number of jobs received and overall spend across Cork City Council’s housing stock.

The spend figures include response maintenance, planned maintenance, and energy-efficiency works.

Jobs resolved can vary from minor works to major refurbishments and overall, more than €53m was spent.

In 2022, 14,034 jobs were completed at a cost of €15,057,631.

In 2023, €15,657,950 was spent on 13,745 jobs.

In 2024, there was a total of 14,857 job requests resolved by the council and a total housing maintenance spend of €22,426,606.

However, Mr Carroll said: “It should be noted that energy efficiency retrofit programme [EERP] spend heavily skews the overall figure for expenditure in 2024, as much of the expenditure for this programme related to works in both 2023 and 2024 was expended in 2024.

“If energy efficiency retrofit programme spend is removed, the total expenditure for 2024 is €15,786,977,” Mr Carroll added.