‘Cork is looked on with envy by others,’ says Cork City Council chief executive 

Since I arrived back to Cork City Council as Chief Executive, I have been struck by the breadth and depth of the work of our staff, which is often taken for granted in the city.

We have teams working 24/7 to solve problems, deliver services, and protect the city while the rest of us go about our daily lives or even sleep, and they are the people who make this possible.

We aren’t in the council for accolades; we are here to make a difference to the places and people we serve, and the accolades don’t come anyway! 

Too often we read or hear about the city’s issues. Too rarely we read about what Cork City Council delivers, day in day out, regardless of perceptions or bad press. So I’m taking a moment to remind you of just some of the things we do.

Up to €2.5 billion is being invested in Cork as the city enters a period of unprecedented transformation with significant investment in housing, sustainable transport, parks, public spaces and climate resilience over the next five years.

Up to €1.9 billion is being spent on housing delivery from 2022-2026 with housing supply one of the Council’s top priorities. By the end of this year, over 800 homes will have been delivered by Cork City Council. Homes are not only being provided as social housing projects but also across affordable housing, right-sizing, cost rental and tenant in situ schemes amongst others.

Over 138 homes were provided this year at developments including the award-winning Barrack Street project, at Denroches Cross in Glasheen and at Poulavone in Ballincollig.

Meanwhile, construction is beginning on a further 95 homes in Phase 1 of Old Whitechurch Road (which will include both affordable and social housing) while work will also start on 133 apartments at Model Farm Road and Bessboro Road.

The Model Farm Road and Bessboro development are being delivered using innovative 3D volumetric building techniques - meaning the homes are manufactured and designed off site and delivered prefabricated leading to faster and more efficient delivery. The final phase of the Boyces Street Regeneration, off Blarney Street, will also bring another 37 homes on stream in our housing regeneration programme.

It’s important to recognise that it’s not just young families who require housing. An important part of our housing programme is right-sizing. People may want to right-size if the home they are living in no longer meets their current or future needs. Springville House on the Blackrock Road has won multiple awards since it opened while our first right-sizing project on the northside, a 26-home development at Farranferris is due to be finished next year.

Homeless prevention measures are a key part of the Government’s approach to addressing homelessness. Central to this is the Tenant in Situ scheme whereby local authorities can buy a house if tenants are at risk of homelessness due to a landlord’s wish to sell. Almost 120 homes are expected to have been acquired by Cork City Council by year’s end under this scheme.

Affordable housing projects are aimed at bridging the gap between a person’s mortgage approval limit and the private market price of a home. This month, we supported the sale of our 200th home under the scheme which marks solid progress as our target is 378 homes by the end of 2026. Affordable homes were provided or are under construction at Seaberry Drive in Grange, Danesfort in Ballyvolane and Heathfield in Ballincollig. A scheme of 45 homes is under construction at Lehenaghmore in Togher and due to launch in January. Phase 1 of our Old Whitechurch Road site will deliver an affordable housing scheme of 86 new homes, which will also launch in early 2025.

Cost rental homes offer a long-term, secure rental option to tenants and help support the development of a more sustainable rental market. Cost rentals have been provided at Lancaster Quay, close to UCC, while there is a delivery pipeline of another 1,149 homes by the approved housing bodies (AHBs) next year and in 2026. This includes the recently granted part 8 planning permission for the Railyard Apartments on Albert Quay. Construction of 217 homes in a mixed tenure scheme of cost rental, social housing and rightsizing is expected to begin in quarter two next year.

One of the pillars of ‘Housing for All’ is the goal of eradicating homelessness by increasing social housing delivery and supporting social inclusion.

Last year, nearly €23 million was spent on homeless services across the city up to November, marking a 37% increase in Section 10 funding compared to 2023.

Cork Simon received about €2 million in funding increases across their services. Funding on the rough sleeper initiative increased to €2 million with €250,000 spent on increased investment in the De Paul B&B Outreach Teams.

Amongst the most visible and progressive signs of change in the city are public transport, walking and cycling schemes.

This year, the following capital schemes were all completed:

• The Dunkettle to Glanmire Cycle Scheme
• Ballybrack Phase 4a saw another 2.1 km of pedestrian and cycle path as far as Maryborough Hill and proposed new residential developments along the route
• Innishmore Walking and Cycling Scheme in Ballincollig
• The Upper Glanmire Pedestrian Improvement Scheme
• Donnybrook Hill Pedestrian Improvement Scheme
• The restoration of pavements and street furniture on Patrick Street, Grand Parade and Daunt Square.

The following additional projects were also all under construction this year:

• The Marina Promenade and the second and final phase of Marina Park
• Hazelwood Road Junction Upgrade in Glanmire
• Mahon Area Cycle Scheme
• The Beamish & Crawford Bridges
• Bishop Lucey Park Public Realm Renewal at South Main Street, Tuckey Street, and Crosses Green

Works are also continuing on the Morrisons Island Public Realm and Flood Relief Scheme in the city centre, which involves the delivery of high quality public realm and landscaping along a 500-metre stretch of the River Lee from Parnell Bridge to Parliament Bridge. This climate resilience scheme will provide flood protection for approximately 400 properties in a part of the city that has long suffered regular tidal flooding. In Glanmire, the Glashaboy River Flood Relief Scheme is well underway and will provide flood protection to more than 100 residential and business properties in the Riverstown/Glanmire area.

To support climate action at a local level, up to €860,000 has been made available to 23 community groups across the city to deliver a variety of climate action and biodiversity projects that they want to see in their neighbourhoods. Furthermore, to make council housing stock more energy efficient, in recent years, Cork City Council has retrofitted more than 1,000 homes leading to more comfortable homes and reduced heating costs. The Cork City Northwest Quarter Regeneration scheme in Knocknaheeny will deliver over 650 A-rated new homes in the lifetime of the programme including new streets, squares, parks, community facilities and a full programme of social, economic and environmental initiatives.

Cork City Council provides over 1,000 services to the people of Cork, from street lighting, road maintenance, civic amenity sites, street cleansing, fire services, the management of parks and green spaces, traffic management, planning services to arts and cultural funding and development, community and social inclusion supports. This year, we also delivered the local elections supporting the election of a new council of 31 members with our Franchise team, adding over 5,900 more voters to the electoral register in the months and weeks beforehand.

I haven’t even touched here on the work underway to develop the city for the future, that might be another piece. 

I have restructured the organisation to deliver now and be ready for the planned growth of Ireland’s second city. We will work closely with every agency, developer, universities, investors, businesses, government departments and all our communities because we are better together in service of common goals.

I have noticed in the past two months that the people most critical of Cork are Cork people. In reality, while I’m more than aware of the problems, Cork is looked on with envy by others - for its performance and potential.

People who have made the city their home love Cork. We should listen to what they see that maybe we don’t. While we are working to improve the city, I often wonder if we don’t accentuate its many positives, who will?