Cork Council official admits authority considered Housing for All targets ‘unrealistic’ from get-go
CorkmanHousing targets set for Cork County Council by the government were always regarded by the local authority as unrealistic with only two-thirds of the target projected to be delivered by year’s end.
“The Housing for All targets, we were aware at the start they were unrealistic. We would have gone back to the department and said these are unrealistic, we can't meet them,” council official MacDara O'Hici told a meeting of the Southern Division of Cork County Council this week.
“We always have been aware that those Housing for All targets were unrealistic and we would have always briefed the members that we wouldn't be reaching them. That said, we have always endeavoured to provide as much as we possibly can.”
‘Housing for All - a New Housing Plan for Ireland’ is the government’s plan to deliver over 300,000 new homes between 2022 and 2030. The plan allocates housing supply targets to each local authority.
Cork County Council’s social housing build target for 2022-25 was 2,501 but the actual number delivered or projected to be delivered by the end of this year is 1,694, a shortfall of 33pc.
The 2022-24 target was 1,818 houses and 1,304 were delivered (71pc) while the 2025 target was 683 with 390 completed or projected to be completed by year’s end (57pc).
East Cork Councillor Eamonn Horgan (Social Democrats) criticised the government for setting unrealistic targets for local authorities.
"There's a tendency from the government to want to pass blame to local authorities for the housing mess. The reality is and has been shown leading up to the general election last year that the government's own housing figures are fantasy figures,” he told the Irish Independent.
“There's a disconnect between these targets and what's feasible. The government needs to stop with the spin, stop pointing fingers, and sit down with local authorities to try to fix the housing mess it has created."