An attempt this week to break the stalemate which has left 13 people promised houses in the Crann Ard estate in Fermoy unable to move in, was unsuccessful.

Cllr Noel McCarthy had tabled a motion for Monday’s meeting of the northern area committee of the county council, calling on it to take the estate in charge, which would allow the 13 to be housed there as planned by the Munster Co-Operative Housing Association. He wants the council to do the works to allow the estate be taken in charge first and sort out the legal issue with the developer afterwards.

No can do, he was told. John O’Neill, senior planner, had a letter before the meeting, advising that the estate couldn’t be taken in charge as there were outstanding works in other parts of the private estate. Those unfinished works made it unlikely that the estate would be taken in charge, he advised.

“There’s no easy answer, it’s very complicated. I can’t give any comfort that this will be resolved in the short term,” Divisional Manager Moira Murrell said.

Cllr McCarthy had explained the background to the case, saying it was an ongoing saga of 13 tenants offered housing in Crann Ard and even given the numbers of their houses before December 2012 who still hadn’t been housed. Their names were taken off the housing list but they are stuck between Cork County Council, the housing association and now the bank.

“Where do they turn now, they have no-one to side with them and it’s come to boiling point. Someone must take responsibility for this situation. The estate is being used, why can’t someone take responsibility?” he asked.

He went on to say that there are potholes that need to be repaired and fencing to be secured but apart from that the houses can be occupied immediately.

“This is going on and on and they have no-one to turn to. We can no longer go on and leave them in limbo. Someone needs to grab this by the scruff of the neck and say ‘I’m going to sort this’,” he said.

Cllr Frank O’Flynn described it as a “cock-up”. He asked why a housing agency would give out houses they weren’t in a position to allocate. “Families are suffering,” he said. Cllr Kevin O’Keefe called it “a fierce dilemma.” Cllr McCarthy agreed, saying it was going from one department to another with no-one making the call.

He asked that something be done and a report brought back to their next meeting. “I want Cork County Council to just do the works and sort out the legal end of things afterwards,” he told The Avondhu afterwards.

He now plans to raise the matter with the county council’s director of housing, Mary Ryan at the housing SPC meeting in county hall next week.

Cllr Tadhg O’Donovan said this week the county council should be upfront with the 13 people affected. “They should be contacted by them immediately and put back on the housing list for priority consideration while they are waiting for this to be sorted. If housing becomes available between now and when the matter is concluded they should be given the opportunity to avail of it. That’s not the case at present,” he said.