{"id":581533,"date":"2026-08-03T09:46:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T09:46:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/581533\/"},"modified":"2026-08-03T09:46:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T09:46:15","slug":"cork-city-social-housing-little-art-left-in-noonans-rd-flats-riddled-with-mould-and-rodents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/581533\/","title":{"rendered":"Cork City social housing: Little \u2018art\u2019 left in Noonan\u2019s Rd flats riddled with mould and rodents"},"content":{"rendered":"

Perhaps the flats on Noonan\u2019s Rd really were state of the art in the 1960s, as one council official told reporters in July 2023, on a night the council visited them.<\/p>\n

However, if they were, there is little art left in their state six decades on, with the brutalist concrete structures crumbling, and their boxy flats riddled with mould, damp, and rodent infestations.<\/p>\n

Three years after that visit, the night the then council chief executive Ann Doherty controversially said \u201carses need kicking\u201d over the state of the flats, blocks two and four are set to be demolished, with one and three scheduled to follow.<\/p>\n

Ms Doherty\u2019s visit had come following a campaign by residents, working with housing advocate William O\u2019Brien. Ten days after that visit, details were published from a leaked December 2022 draft Cork City Council report which identified \u201cmajor structural defects\u201d in the Noonan\u2019s Rd and St Finbarr\u2019s Rd flats.<\/p>\n

That report cited hollowed-out, loosened walls, and loosened roofs. The report strongly recommended the complete demolition of the buildings.<\/p>\n

Just over two months after the visit, after the chief executive apologised for the \u201cshocking\u201d living conditions in the area, the council announced that it favoured demolition of the O\u2019Byrne flats on Noonan\u2019s Rd, St Finbarr\u2019s Rd, Fort St, and Dean St. \u201cThis would require, on a phased basis, the temporary relocation of all residents, with an option to return to the redeveloped new homes in due course, or, if they so wish, remain living at their relocated home,\u201d the council said.<\/p>\n

However, while the 84 flats at Noonan\u2019s Rd and the neighbouring St Finbarr\u2019s Rd are now almost completely emptied, last December the council rowed back on plans to demolish the 30 on Fort St and Dean St. Despite those flats having the same problems with mould, damp, and rats as the flats on Noonan\u2019s Rd and St Finbarr\u2019s Rd, the council said that, given the scale of the housing crisis, it was \u201cseeking to continue full occupancy at the Fort St and Dean St complexes, where possible\u201d.<\/p>\n

The three-storey, maisonette-style flat is instantly recognisable across the city, and is replicated in places such as Clashduv Rd, Togher Rd, Sycamore Place, Cherry Tree Rd, Sycamore Place, Maple Place, Baker\u2019s Rd, Cattlemarket Avenue, and Mount Farran.<\/p>\n

The flats were introduced in the 1960s by the then city architect Eamon O\u2019Byrne and were built by Cork Corporation to have a 50-year lifespan.<\/p>\n

They all are now, according to tenants, prone to varying degrees of issues with cold, damp, black mould, and vermin.<\/p>\n

Last December, reporters surveyed Cork City Council tenants living in the 160 O\u2019Byrne flats across the city, receiving responses from 59% of tenants.<\/p>\n

Persistent issues with rats and mice were cited by 65% of respondents, or 39% of all tenants.<\/p>\n

According to Cork City Council\u2019s tenants\u2019 handbook, tenants are responsible for dealing with rodent infestations in their homes.<\/p>\n

However, several tenants said that the rats and mice were running through the connected ceilings and walls and were coming in from neighbouring, overgrown, and litter-strewn gardens.<\/p>\n

More than half of all tenants, or 85% of respondents, reported having trouble heating their home, with 44% of respondents spending up to \u20ac50 per week on heating, and 38% spending between \u20ac50 and \u20ac100.<\/p>\n

A further 7% said they were spending more than \u20ac100 a week on heating.<\/p>\n

More than half of all tenants, or 93% of respondents, said their homes had draughty or poorly fitted windows or doors, while 92% of respondents said their homes were cold and damp, with condensation an issue.<\/p>\n

Just over half of all tenants, or 85% of respondents, said black mould was a recurring issue.<\/p>\n

Health problems caused or exacerbated by poor living conditions were cited by 72% of respondents, or 43% of all tenants.<\/p>\n

A total of 82% of respondents, or just short of half of all tenants, said that they had made complaints to Cork City Council and expressed extreme dissatisfaction with the response.<\/p>\n

A single respondent said they had contacted the council about an issue and were satisfied with the response they had received.<\/p>\n

This special report was funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Perhaps the flats on Noonan\u2019s Rd really were state of the art in the 1960s, as one council…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":581534,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[79,6037,807,61,60,43],"class_list":["post-581533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-cork-news","tag-cork-city-council","tag-housing","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=581533"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581533\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/581534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=581533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=581533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=581533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}