Thousands of council houses remain vacant due to rise in the time it takes to move tenants in

In Cork City, it is taking an average of 75 weeks to re-let a home, more than double the national average of 34 weeks

Sinn Féin's Eoin Ó Broin said local authorities are tendering out work rather than hiring sufficient staff. 'This then leads to overly bureaucratic processes in procurement which slows things down.' Picture: Leah Farrell

Councils across Ireland are taking longer and spending more to find tenants for vacant social housing.

The annual report of the National Oversight and Audit Commission (NOAC) shows that the average time from a tenant leaving a council home to a replacement paying their first rent is now over 34 weeks, up from 32 weeks in 2020.