Ghost estates - Don’t knock them down

It seems crazy that there should be 100,000 families on local authority waiting lists while the country is blighted with unfinished or “ghost” estates and public money is being used to rescue the banks and property developers whose recklessness has undermined the economy.

Thanks largely to the investigation conducted by the Irish Examiner, the issue has been highlighted and the Government is now preparing to address the problems of ghost estates.

Ciarán Cuffe, the new minister with responsibility for sustainable transport, planning, food and horticulture, has indicated that the Government will draw up an action plan to deal with those estates. In extreme cases developers may be compelled to demolish partially completed or deteriorating developments.