One in 20 city council houses lie vacant

One in 20 Cork City Council houses is lying vacant even with thousands on the housing waiting list, according to figures from the local authority.

Up to 7,830 people are seeking local authority housing in the city. The local authority owns 8,752 properties, 413 of which are unoccupied.

Over 5,000 of those on the housing list are seeking a local authority house as they cannot afford to buy their own home, and about 3,000 of these people are already in receipt of rent allowance.