Cork Simon share some home truths
A homeless charity working on Leeside has this week stressed how there is a significant under supply of one and two bedroom houses.
Cork Simon Community’s fifth Home Truths paper, One- and Two-Bedroom Housing Need and Supply was published yesterday, Wednesday, and paints a picture of entrenched housing disadvantage for a significant portion of the population. This is, now and for the foreseeable future, the largest household category in the country.
The report draws on data from Central Statistics Office (CSO), Department of Housing, Eurostat and other sources. It found the number of one- and two-person households, already the majority household type across the country, is predicted to continue growing. Most adults in emergency accommodation in Cork and Kerry are single households however most of the housing is three- and four-bed. There are twice as many one- and two-person households in Cork city as there are one- and two bedroom homes.
The Cork Simon report indicated there’s little sign of the under-supply of much-needed one- and two-bed housing improving.
Cork Simon’s Sophie Johnston, who compiled the Home Truths report, said: “It’s a particularly acute issue among those experiencing the greatest housing disadvantage. Over 60% of households on the social housing waiting list in Cork city are single households while over three-quarters of adults in homeless emergency accommodation here in the Southwest are single adults, most of whom need single unit housing to be able to leave homelessness. Our service users describe trying to find one-person accommodation as ‘impossible’. Not only do we need more housing, we especially need more one- and two-bed housing.”
The report identified apartment construction as a good indicator of future one- and two-bedroom housing supply and based on the CSO finding that 80% of apartments in Cork city are one- and two- bedroom units. Approved planning permissions for apartment units in Cork city fell by 61% in 2024.
This is of particular concern to Cork Simon given that less than one in four apartment units approved for planning in Cork city between 2018 and 2022 were completed by the end of 2024.
Latest CSO data shows new apartment completions in Cork city were down 10% in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same period last year. Building commencement notices for apartment units also fell in Cork city in Q1 2025 to their lowest quarterly number in five years.
Ms Johnston said: “The considerable fall in approved planning permissions for apartment units is a concern for the future supply of one- and two-bedroom homes, especially given the low level of apartments that progress from planning to completion. The fall in commencements and completions for new apartment units in the first quarter of this year in Cork city add to the concern. The need for a considerable increase in housing supply is well-established. The delivery of one- and two-bed homes needs much more attention if the needs of the growing number of one- and two-person households are to be met, and especially if the majority of adults now stuck in emergency accommodation are to have any hope of restating their lives.”