6,700 people on housing wait list
New figures published yesterday show the state of the social housing waiting list across Cork city and county.
The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Darragh O’Brien on Wednesday said he welcomed figures published in the 2021 Summary of Social Housing Assessments which he said “show a substantial reduction” of 22 per cent in the Cork city and county social housing waiting lists since the first annual assessment was conducted in 2016.
Starting off with 4,440 in 2016 in Cork city, households on the social housing waiting list fell to 4,373 in 2017, to 3,118 in 2018, rose to 4,639 in 2019, fell to 3,953 in 2020 and rose again in 2021 to 4,501.
As for Cork county, there were 4,241 waiting in 2016, it rose to 4,591 in 2017, fell to 3,509 in 2018, fell again to 2,533 in 2019 and again in 2020 to 2,470 and droppped to 2,237 in 2021.
2019 saw such an increase in Cork city and decrease in the county because of the boundary extension in Cork. A significant number of applicants who had previously been on Cork County Council’s waiting list were transferred to the expanded Cork City Council’s waiting list.
Nationally, 59,247 households were assessed as being qualified for social housing support as of 17 November 2021, down 2,633 (4.3 per cent) from 61,880 households on 2 November 2020. This figure is a reduction of 32,353 (35.3 per cent) since 2016.
Minister O’Brien said: “These results are evidence that Government investment in social housing supports is working for Cork. Nationally, over 23,300 households had their housing needs met in 2021 – this is despite the very significant impact the Covid-19 pandemic had on delivery. It’s important to remember that most residential construction was halted for a 13 week period from January to April.
“We must not, and will not, lose sight of the fact that there are still just over 6,700 households in Cork who are relying on us for the provision of housing support. Housing for All, which was launched six months ago, sets us on a pathway to delivering 90,000 new social homes between now and the end of 2030. This year we will be investing more than €4 billion to deliver 11,820 new social homes in 2022, including 9,000 new build social homes.” He added: “As with all departments, we are watching the situation in Ukraine closely.
“The Russian invasion is having significant impacts on all sectors of society and our goal is to provide shelter and accommodation for those fleeing war while protecting to the greatest extent possible, Housing for All delivery at its existing pace.”