Cork County Council has promised to look into hardship cases after a new rent system introduced for its tenants saw an 80-year-old man’s rent double overnight.

It’s not so long ago since Independent councillors were out in the cold in the chamber of Cork County Council.

Cork County Council has lost nearly a third of its staff since a recruitment embargo was imposed on local authorities, and fears have been expressed that its number of outdoor staff has fallen to such a critically-low level they’re incapable of dealing with their huge workload.

Cork County Council has managed to convince the Government to lift a recruitment embargo to fill senior positions on the local authority — but did not manage to do the same for frontline outdoor workers.

Cork County Council has said that due to "current financial constraints" it will have to prioritise repairs to council houses for the rest of the year.