Millions of euro worth of land which Cork County Council was “forced to buy” remains idle, or is being let out to farmers from grazing livestock.

People on the housing waiting list in County Cork may get a boost if the local authority is successful with its plea to the National Housing Agency (NHA) to instruct Nama to allocate vacant homes.

New directions for physical planning of the built environment post-Mahon Report, along with the future of the country’s ghost and unfinished estates, will come under a planners’ spotlight at month’s end.

THOUSANDS of homeowners will struggle to meet mortgage repayments as interest rates double over the next three years, a leading economist has warned.

THOUSANDS of low-paid workers are to be offered cheap houses on State-owned land from next year.