Cork City Council is paying out over €175,000 a year to private companies to hire steel shutters placed on 500 empty local authority flats and houses while housing lists in the city continue to grow.
Workers’ Party representative, James Coughlan, said that the City Council was paying for neglect and the money used in shuttering, security and tackling anti-social behaviour should instead be used to make good the empty homes. “This simple act”, said Coughlan, “could create badly needed building jobs, reduce the housing list, improve the look of many areas and actually increase the revenue of the City Council through rent”.
There are over 8,000 people on Cork City Council’s housing list.
