The ONE Cork group – a collaboration of 20 trade unions operating in the southern capital – has called for a new social housing model to be put in place. At the heart of a new set of policy proposals, the coalition says local authorities should play a leading role in the delivery of social housing.

ONE Cork expressed grave concern over the failure of successive governments to implement effective social housing policy, and said union members and their families were feeling the impact of this failure.

The group called for the creation of a municipal housing agency, which would allow for the pooling of construction, architecture and engineering expertise across a number of local authorities.

The Cork trade unions insist that now is the right time for action and vision on this scale. This belief is held both because we find ourselves in the middle of a deep and serious housing crisis, and because EIB and other finance from the Housing Finance Agency has never been cheaper.

Moreover, the group notes that action of this sort would create local employment, boost local business and enable workers and their families to access decent and affordable housing.

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