CENTRAL Dublin was brought to a standstill on Saturday when thousands of housing activists staged a sit-down protest at Ireland’s mounting crisis of housing and homelessness.

The march was the latest in a series of demonstrations organised by Take Back the City, a coalition of housing campaigners, trade unionists and others concerned at rising rents and house prices in Ireland.

The group has occupied a number of vacant properties across the Irish capital in recent weeks as they highlight the scale of the housing problem.