Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

On cost rental, 27 homes are planned for Cork city in 2024 and none for next year. Cork City Council hit its target earlier than probably most local authorities, but the problem is that the targets for cost rental in Cork were so low that the council will finish them this year and there are none in the pipeline. I have issues with cost rental in Cork because I do not think it is as affordable as it should be. The concept of cost rental is very good and has broad support in the House, but I want cost rental that is truly affordable, with targets and figures set out for each local authority that will make a difference.

I was contacted by a couple last week who had been taken off the social housing list, and I dealt with a woman on Monday who is a healthcare worker earning €42,000 a year. For a single person to qualify for social housing in Cork, the limit is €40,000, so she is €2,000 over it. There is no cost rental in Cork that she can go to and she is worried she is going to be made homeless. This is a lady of 57 years of age who works with children for a contractor that works with Tusla. She is at risk of becoming homeless because we are not delivering enough affordable or cost-rental properties in Cork, even if the idea of cost rental is good. When I spoke to this lady about cost rental being a possibility for her, she said she could not afford €900 or €1,000 a month, even though she earns €42,000 a year. She just could not do that. For cost rental, we have to look at affordability and the targets because they are too low.

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