Economists say the owners of vacant sites must be taxed "aggressively" to reduce housing costs.

Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Housing, Planning and Local Government, Darragh O’Brien TD has said that there are serious shortcomings with the Government’s vacant site levy.

Cork county councillors are demanding that senior IDA officials address their concerns about the lack of progress in establishing industries on 230 hectares of vacant land which the IDA owns at 14 locations around the county.