In the small Co Cork village of Carrignavar, 10 almost-completed houses have lain idle for more than 15 years.
The properties, in a development referred to as the Quarry, have been left unfinished due to a lack of wastewater infrastructure in the area. The homes, which are across the road from a swimming pool, tennis courts and playground, remain fenced off by steel hoarding with CCTV in place.
The site has been the subject of dumping, while some of the properties appear to be affected by damp and are obscured by overgrown bushes.
A local couple were granted planning permission by Cork County Council in 2003 to build the 10 houses. Construction started, but was halted before completion.
RM Block
A new connection enquiry was submitted to Uisce Éireann to connect the properties to the Carrignavar sewerage network in 2023.
“However, the wastewater load collected in Carrignavar exceeds the capacity of the local wastewater treatment plant,” the utility company said. “As a result, there is no available capacity for new wastewater connections at this time.”
Local politicians have been calling for the village – which is “crying out” for new homes – to be prioritised for connection, so the houses can be completed and others built.
The Small Towns and Villages Growth Programme (STVGP) was established by Uisce Éireann in 2021, with each local authority responsible for prioritising candidate settlements for investment under the programme.
Carrignavar was not included in Cork County Council’s list of prioritised sites for upgrade under the STVGP for the 2020–2024 Capital Investment Plan.
The council has Carrignavar ranked at number 13 in the list of candidate settlements under the STVGP after local authorities were asked to review the ranking of such settlements in their areas in 2023.
Cork County Council said it had no information about the current ownership of the site, with no details listed on the Land Registry. The local authority also said these are “privately owned properties in which the council holds no interest and has no comment to make”.
However, correspondence to Sinn Féin Cork North-Central TD Thomas Gould in January last year showed the council indicated it would be interested in purchasing the homes for its housing stock if wastewater issues could be resolved.
A council official told Mr Gould’s office the local authority had made “a number of enquiries over the years” in relation to the houses.
“Initially the developer was not interested in engaging with us as he intended to complete the project himself and put the houses on the market,” the council official had said.
“About 18 months ago however there was further contact with the developer, and he was agreeable to selling the site and unfinished units to the council.
“Unfortunately, Irish Water, when contacted at that time, advised that their infrastructure in the village was at capacity and they would not be in a position to grant a connection from the site to their network. As a result, we could not proceed with the acquisition of the houses.”
Mr Gould said the community was “crying out for houses” for the people of Carrignavar and the surrounding area.
“You’ve a new primary school, a secondary school, a new special school being built, tennis courts, shops, a community centre. You have everything,” he said.
“Surely they could come up with a temporary fix to get these 10 houses turned out and then have a longer term plan for more houses?
“The problem with these kind of houses is they will start to become uninhabitable. It will get to a stage where they will become derelict. At this point in time, they might have to be knocked.”
[ Raw and untreated sewage flowing into waterways amid delays to upgrade works ]
The issue of the properties has been raised in the Dáil by Mr Gould and other local TDs.
Fianna Fáil’s Padráig O’Sullivan told the chamber in June that the lack of wastewater infrastructure was one of the greatest inhibitors to development in many of the country’s towns and villages.
Mr O’Sullivan said despite Carrignavar being located only 12 minutes from Cork city centre “there has not been a house built in the village for the best part of a decade”.
“Judging by Irish Water’s current capital plan, a house will not be built in the village until 2036 at the earliest by my estimation,” he said. “We can give the money to Carrignavar in the morning, but Irish Water is telling us it will take seven years to upgrade the plant, what with planning, tendering, environmental reports and so on.
“That is the real crux of the matter. We can throw all the money we want at stuff, but unless the system changes and adapts to the needs of society, money is not going to solve many of the issues we have.”
Labour’s Eoghan Kenny told the Dáíl Public Accounts Committee (PAC) earlier this year there were delays in opening a special school in Carrignavar because of the lack of a wastewater connection.
“Ten houses have been lying idle since 2009 that Cork City Council wants to buy but cannot buy because there is no wastewater connection,” he said. “Because the wastewater treatment plant there is full, it is stopping the progress of the acquisition of social homes and the opening of a special school. That is a serious issue.”
Independent Ireland TD Ken O’Flynn accused the council and Uisce Éireann of “jointly” allowing Carrignavar “to be left at the back of the queue” and said the consequences were “enormous”.
Tom Howard, chairman of Carrignavar community council, said the absence of wastewater capacity was blocking “development of any kind” in the village.
“We would like the houses to be used for housing because there is a shortage of housing in our village. At the moment, they’re just left there idle. It’s an eyesore,” he said.
“There’s 10 houses there and there are people crying out for houses, especially young people, so we would like to see them finished and put into home ownership or for the council to rent them.
“Our [wastewater] treatment plant is overcapacity and we are aiming to put a new plant in eventually, but that will take time. There’s no development whatsoever in the village simply because no houses can be built.”
The Department of Housing said the “scope, prioritisation and progression” of individual water service projects and new connections was a matter for Uisce Éireann and said it had no role.
However, it said it was aware the utility company received a connection application for 10 housing units in Carrignavar, but as capacity was not available a refusal was issued.
The department said the Minister for Housing James Browne has recently announced that builders would now be able to develop new wastewater treatment facilities in collaboration with Uisce Éireann for smaller housing developments of up to 40 homes.
This system will operate under general binding rules prescribed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and will be operational in early 2026.
“It will provide greater planning certainty for developers, local authorities and communities by ensuring a consistent and transparent approach to how wastewater solutions for smaller housing schemes are assessed and approved,” it said.
