Ghost estates are a monument to greed

THE huge number of ghost estates nationwide has raised questions about the efficacy of planning procedures during the boom years.

People who bought homes in these estates are living through a nightmare as a result of government policy that gave tax breaks of €870m to developers regardless of proper planning and the reckless lending that inflated the property bubble.

This formed the foundation on which these ghost estates were built and are now crumbling. Monies lodged in the form of bonds with local authorities to guarantee completion of unfinished estates will not even cover maintenance of footpaths and street lighting.