14% fall in new-build social housing in Cork

The delivery of new-build social housing in Cork fell by 14% last year, with fewer than 900 homes completed across the city and county.

According to new data from the Department of Housing, Local Government, and Heritage, only 872 units were delivered in 2025, down from 1,019 the previous year.

Cork City Council provided 472 homes and Cork County Council delivered 400 — well short of their combined annual target of 1,275 social housing units.

This means that less than 70% of the annual target was met

Cork City Council fell short by 120 units on its target of 592. Cork County Council missed its target of 683 by 283 units.

While Cork City Council met or exceeded its annual targets between 2022 and 2024, Cork County Council delivered 714 fewer units than planned over the same four‑year period.

Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns told The Echo that missed targets have “hugely negative impacts for the thousands of people in Cork city and county who desperately need a secure and affordable home”.

“These are abysmal figures,” said Ms Cairns.

“While they are extremely disappointing, it is sadly not surprising to see housing targets being continually missed.

“With less than 70% of the target having been met across the county, this will never change as long as the Government continues to pursue a failed housing policy that is over-reliant on private developers and international investor funds.

“However, instead of changing their approach, they are doubling down on failure.” 

 Sinn Féin Cork South Central TD Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire said it is “heart-breaking to see that social housing delivery is actually going backwards — it’s unacceptable”.

“The targets are already nowhere near high enough for the demand,” said Mr Ó Laoghaire.

“There’s about 8,000 people on the housing list in the city, with similar numbers in the county.

“It is shocking to be some 300 units short of the target across Cork.

“The two councils need to improve their output very significantly this year, because if this trend continues, people waiting up to 11 years on the list will become the norm.”