Taoiseach Micheál Martin acknowledged that more progress needs to be made on housing delivery if Ireland is to reach its goal of delivering more than 50,000 accommodation units over a sustained period of time.
Mr Martin said the Government delivered more than 30,000 units last year but more needed to be done to cater for continued population growth.
“We need to get to 50,000 plus over a sustained period of time, that’s the key objective for us dealing with the growth in population, and also to enable housing to be affordable for people to rent or to buy so we need projects to happen quickly,” he said.
“We need developments to get done quickly – that’s why we’re reforming our planning laws, reforming judicial reviews – all of that is designed to try and make projects more viable and to get projects done as quickly as we possibly can.”
READ MORE
Mr Martin was speaking in Cork where he turned the sod at two separate developments at Railway Yard on Albert Quay and Creamfields at the former Cork Milk Producers site on Tramore Road, which between them will deliver more than 800 housing units over the next three years.
The Railyard Apartments involves a partnership between Cork City Council and JCD Group and will deliver 217 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments in a 24-storey tower which will step down to 12 storeys and then nine storeys at the former Carey’s Tool Hire site on Albert Quay.
Meanwhile Cork City Council is partnering with the approved housing body Respond to deliver more than 600 social and cost rental housing units at Creamfields on Tramore Road, where Mr Martin spoke about the importance of both projects.
“This is a major development [at Creamfields] with 600-plus houses. When you add that to the over 200 units at the Railyard project, you are looking at very, very significant housing. Cork City Council have been very forward looking in driving on housing developments in the city,” he said.
Mr Martin noted the Creamfields development, comprising 558 apartments and 48 duplexes, would deliver 225 social homes, assigned to tenants from the council’s housing waiting list, and 381 cost-rental homes allocated by lottery at rental rates 25 per cent below local market rates.
The work, which will feature a 15-storey landmark tower, will be carried out over four phases with the first phase expected to be completed in the first half of 2028.
