To Point 1.10. : (page 10) The plan sets out develop the city as one of the most attractive places in Europe to live in. The aim should be amended to include 'affordable'. Cork is a beautiful city but it is getting harder and harder to afford to live here. This could be addressed by implementing a city-wide living wage of at least €12.50 per hour for anyone working here combined with strategies to not just cap rents but actively lower the current rents that are asked for.
To Point 1.11: (page 28) The RSES supports investment in initiatives that deliver housing growth, increasing affordable housing and tenure mix, tackling vacancies and enhancing communities- this point should be expanded to specifically mention aiming at an increase in social housing to aid those most in need.
To Point 1.13: (page 44) While the introduction of the vacant site levy is commendable and the Derelict Sites Register is increasing, these measures may not be enough to put available space back into use to address the shortage of available living spaces now and into the future. CCC should increase the derelict sites unit and start looking into using compulsory purchase orders to acquire sites that can then be used by the council to build affordable housing. This would create additional income for CCC which can be used to compulsory purchase further vacant sites and derelict buildings into the future.
To Point 1.14: (page 45) Even though it is good news that the vacancy rate for houses in Cork is lower than the national average and the vacancy rate for apartments less than a percentage point higher than the national average, the question of quality of housing should be taken into account. Due to the difficulties people have in finding accommodation as mentioned on Today with Claire Byrne on Radio 1 on 28th September 2021, people end up living in accommodation that is below an acceptable level of hygiene and repair. CCC may need to create a working group helping tenants deal with accommodation in need of repair long before the place can be deemed derelict.
To Point 1.15: (page 59) At the moment CCC seems to own a number of properties that lay vacant as per the derelict sites register. These could be used to build affordable apartments and housing units to be rented out by CCC directly and not by a developer. This would open up another source of funding for the development of our city.