Council pays twice what houses are worth

Waterford City Council will spend €2.2m to buy 11 houses it was informed were worth considerably less than half that amount.

The properties are being bought from the trustees of the Holy Ghost Hospital, which is run by a board of local politicians, solicitors, and professions specified under its charter.

Three councillors who voted to approve the local authority’s purchase sit on the board of the trust, along with another councillor’s father.