Work ongoing on Defence Force accommodation as concerns raised over personnel finding places to live in Cork

Work is ongoing to make Defence Forces accommodation habitable again, the Tánaiste has said, as a Cork TD has raised the difficulty in securing places to live in Cork for personnel.

In Cork, there are just two habitable buildings and there are 11, or 84.6%, uninhabitable, The Echo previously revealed.

Sinn Féin TD for Cork South Central and the party’s spokesperson on defence, Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire, raised this issue in the Dáil on Thursday, saying: “About 85% of the buildings in Cork are uninhabitable, while the number across the State is 153, with 71 unoccupied and 79 uninhabitable.”

Tánaiste Simon Harris said: “None of these uninhabitable properties can be brought up to a habitable standard without significant work. Many of them were built prior to the introduction of building regulations, for example.

“Consultants were commissioned to assess the condition of the Defence Forces vacant housing stock and its suitability for conversion or refurbishment to provide for additional single living-in accommodation for Defence Forces personnel.

“My officials are subsequently engaged with the Defence Forces to have these projects included in the existing infrastructure development plan. It is intended to begin the procurement phase for this project in 2026.”

Mr Ó Laoghaire said: “We have members of the Defence Forces who are struggling to find accommodation, especially when they are based near urban centres. Certainly in Cork it can be difficult for people, particularly if they are recent enough recruits and maybe on the lower end of the pay scale, to find accommodation near Collins Barracks, Haulbowline, or Lynch Camp in Fermoy.”

He asked for a timeline on the plans to bring buildings back into use as accommodation, and was told by Mr Harris: “We will have to make a call in 2026 about the uninhabitable accommodation and what can and cannot be made habitable.”

Responding to another PQ from Fine Gael’s Noel McCarthy about investment in the Defence Forces infrastructure, Mr Harris said two works are going on in Cork.

“They involve the upgrade of two buildings, namely, block 4 accommodation and block 9 office accommodation in Haulbowline. One involves €7.8m, while the other involves €17.4m.

“I am also pleased to say that we have seen a refurbishment of block 1 accommodation in Collins Barracks at an investment of €4.9m. Millions are being invested in the defence facilities in Cork.”