A new housing development on the Richmond Road in Drumcondra has been formally launched today.

A jobless couple was removed from a local authority housing list because their annual social protection income had jumped to just over €29,000 after the birth of an eighth child, the High Court was told.

An ever-growing population and a decrease in the amount of vacant homes for sale on the open market is making it more difficult for Cork County Council to buy secondhand properties to accommodate people on its housing waiting list.

More than half of people on waiting list fail to use system

It’s been described as “an absolute disgrace” that nearly 7,000 people are on the waiting list for houses in Co Cork, yet 600 Nama-owned homes and 163 apartments are lying idle.