LOCAL Labour TD Seán Sherlock has called on Environment Minister John Gormley to assist Cork County Council in dealing with difficulties that have arisen in a Mitchelstown Housing Estate because of a poor take-up in affordable housing.

LOCAL Labour TD Seán Sherlock has called on Environment Minister John Gormley to assist Cork County Council in dealing with difficulties that have arisen in a Mitchelstown Housing Estate because of a poor take-up in affordable housing.

Speaking in the Dáil on the issue in December, Deputy Sherlock described the development at Stag Park as one of the finest in the country but said a number of empty houses within the estate had now been vandalised.

"Many of the affordable houses are empty because they cannot be sold. The empty houses have now given rise to anti-social behaviour. The estate is wonderful and the residents are very proud of where they live. They have organised residents' associations," Deputy Sherlock told the Dáil.

"There is real concern that some of the empty affordable houses will not be sold because they have been on the market for now almost two years, I have a list as long as one's arm of people in the Mitchelstown area who would gladly take one of these houses if they were transferred to social housing status," he continued.

Deputy Sherlock also called on the minister to demonstrate flexibility in terms of the stipulations put in place during the preparation of the Stag Park affordable housing scheme to enable their status be changed to that of social housing.

"In cases where the social housing waiting list is of a certain size, there should be some degree of flexibility to ensure such houses are occupied. In this way the problems of anti-social behaviour can be offset. We need a common-sense approach to the use of empty houses under the auspices of local authorities," he said.

Commenting on the situation this week, Deputy Sherlock said he is continuing to pursue the issue with the Minister while praising residents for their efforts to date.

"Residents have been very pro-active on this issue in a bid to do their best for their estate. Stag Park is a very impressive development and has the potential to make residents very proud as long. However, the council needs assistance from the department to ensure this can happen," he added.