Council to take AIB to court over ghost estates

Cork County Council is preparing to take eight legal cases against AIB because the bank has refused to release insurance policies it holds on developers who have not finished off ghost estates.

The news was given to councillors yesterday by the local authority’s chief executive, Tim Lucey, after they urged him to act on behalf of residents in the estates who have had to endure “dire conditions” for years.

Councillors maintained that it was more difficult to get insurance policies (bonds) drawn down from AIB than from any other financial institution.