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Councillors Tadhg O’Donovan and Noel McCarthy pictured at the site on Oliver Plunkett Hill which Fermoy Town Council has received €2.09M in funding for an infill housing development on. Photo: Ellen Lynch

After a 25-year-wait, funding has finally been allocated under Housing Minister Jan O'Sullivan's Local Authority Home Building Initiative for the construction of 11 houses at Oliver Plunkett Hill in Fermoy town.

Fermoy was the only housing project in the county allocated funding under the scheme which disbursed €68m in total across the country.

Welcoming the news this week, Minister Sean Sherlock said he was delighted the site on Oliver Plunkett Hill is finally being resolved. "This is an issue I've dealt with since my first days as a councillor in 2003 and I have continued to lobby for this site to be resolved every since. I'm delighted to be able, as the local minister representing Fermoy, to confirm that the site is included in the lnitiative," he said.

"It's telling that Fermoy is the only Cork county building initiative included in the scheme, highlighting the importance of the site in question," he added.

He thanked his ministerial colleague, Jan O'Sullivan for the hard work required to deliver funding for the scheme and said he looks forward to, 'not just seeing the construction begin - which will create jobs - but also see the houses completed and filled as soon as possible'.

"This goes back over a quarter of a century," Cllr Tadhg O'Donovan said. Fermoy Town Council purchased a number of derelict properties on the hill and demolished them with the intention of putting in an infill housing scheme. "We've been so near and yet so far on this. It went out to tender twice but then the funding wasn't available," he explained.

The site, surrounded by wooden fencing, has lain untouched for years. There was ample evidence, when The Avondhu visited it on Wednesday, that it has been used for drinking parties.

Cllr. O'Donovan felt it was fair to assume that the €2.09M in funding would allow for the construction of all 11 of the houses planned for the site. "This site has been lying ideal for 25 years.  Successive governments promised funding but failed to deliver. This is great news," he said.

Cllr Noel McCarthy also warmly welcomed the annouoncement saying it would allow Fermoy Town Council to deliver a final positive for the town before abolition - the construction of a much needed housing scheme. Local residents will also be relieved to see the site developed after lying idle for so long, he said.

It's understood the housing development planned is in line with the type and design of housing across the road from the site.

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