It is the first time Cork City Council will have issued such fines, which are designed to motivate the development of vacant sites and to reduce land hoarding.

Planning permission for the €100m-plus renewal of the 40-year-old Wilton Shopping Centre is being sought from Cork City Council this week.

Under-siege residents living near two of Ireland’s largest third-level colleges have called for a levy to be imposed on students to cover the costs of on-street security.

A Romanian national who was part of an organised system of predatory criminal activity in Cork was yesterday jailed for nine months.