Affordable housing - Another bill for taxpayers

AS a metaphor for our time it’s perfect.

A local authority intervenes to provide housing for first time buyers at the height of our madness but because of the banking collapse up to 800 affordable homes remain unsold and the local authority — Cork County Council — is left with a debt of €116 million.

The Affordable Housing Partnership has been left with more than 1,100 empty units around the country.

In the last five years around 13,000 homes were bought for between 30% and 50% lower than their market value but the market has caught up with them and many are now worth less than what they cost.

The devastation inflicted on this society by immoral and unhindered greed is indeed spectacular.