Families left to wait a year for new homes in paperwork row as up to 35m worth of apartments lie idle

"Social housing in much sought after areas, bought by the taxpayer, are empty due to 'extraordinary' and 'substantial' delays in signing off processes"

"The northern lights were visible even from the suburbs below the Dublin mountains this week, with people all over the capital turning their gaze to the sky. In Rathfarnham, however, people have spent the past year gazing on a far more depressing light-related sight: a brand-spanking-new apartment block with just a few lights turned on each night."

Taxpayer-funded social housing in sought-after Dublin areas remains empty because of 'extraordinary' and 'substantial' delays in signing-off processes. A brand-new apartment block in Rathfarnham has stood largely dark for a year, with only a few lights on each night. Residents elsewhere in the capital looked upward at the northern lights while Rathfarnham residents have watched an underused housing block instead. The emptiness represents a delay in making housing available and a continued use of public funds without delivering occupiable homes. The described delays are procedural and have prevented occupancy of new social homes.

Read at Independent