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GHOST ESTATES WERE once a symbol of everything that had gone wrong with Ireland.
A collapsing property market, tens of thousands of construction workers unemployed even though there was work to be done and an economy rapidly declining.
These unfinished estates in almost every county of the country were an almost eerie reminder of how bad our recession was.
However, the last seven years have seen those issues almost eradicated.
The Department of Housing’s latest progress report on unfinished developments showed that from a high of 3,000, the number now stands at 420.
2016 alone saw the resolution of 248 developments.
The survey also found that 2,000 units are currently being utilised for social housing purposes.
So, what happened?
Broadly, the Department says that these developments have been “resolved”, one way or another. But what this means varies from case to case.
In their own definitions, they say that “completed” sites may not be fully finished.
A development will be regarded as finished if an inspector considers, on the basis of a normal visual on-site inspection, that the following have been substantially completed: dwellings, roads and footpaths, lighting, water supply, waste water infrastructure, open spaces, as defined for the purposes of this survey.
It says that things like individual house electricity connections, entrance gates, decoration etc are not significant in this context.
But what actually happened in 2016?
Entering 2016, there were 668 unfinished developments across Ireland. These represented a total of 47,974 homes.
At the start of 2016:
In total, over 23,000 homes in 248 developments have been resolved through a variety of methods.
These included:
Bonds and securities
The Department and local authorities were able to claim around €6 million from bonds paid by developers as construction bonds. This money had been paid over as a security for the provision of infrastructure. Since 2010, €63 million has been recovered from developers.
A total of 25 local authorities also have outstanding bond claims with IBRC, valued at €28 million. A decision on those claims will be made this year. This provided the funding for remediation works on a number of developments.
Taking in charge
Of the developments resolved, 60 were taken in charge by the local authorities – the process by which councils take over responsibility for the lighting, roads and other infrastructure in a development.
Because of the number of outstanding developments that needed to be taken in charge, the Department of Housing last year commenced an aggressive scheme to have authorities do just that.
“To accelerate the process, the Department funded local authority action to a total spend of €7.7 million but it is important to stress that NTICI was not intended as a rolling annual budgetary allocation but a special initiative
to examine systems and procedures within local authorities on the taking in charge process and to present key findings and recommendations for further prioritisation and streamlining measures to drive the process forward.”
Clearance and Nama
A very small number of houses have been demolished, having been left in either an unsalvageable state or in too weak a market to justify completion.
In total, 69 units (or partial units) were demolished with 53 of these units being confined to two developments, namely Ard Micheal, Ballinalee Road, Longford and Aishling, Ennis, Clare.
A further 15 developments are in the hands of Nama.
Fixing the rest
As part of the government’s housing plan, the Department of Housing says that it wants to quickly resolve the remaining 420 unfinished developments.
It envisages doing this through work with developers and receivers and through an integrated local authority response.
It says that developers and receivers will resolve many sites through sales and work through the councils.
Within the last year there has been evidence of a significant number of ‘unfinished’ developments for sale and being sold with new planning applications being lodged to local authorities. It is expected that further movement will be forthcoming in 2017.
“It is anticipated that a number of unfinished developments will progress in the year ahead. A number of the remaining developments and sites have been recently sold or are currently for sale and are located within urban areas where there is demand, finished developments have been taken in charge and new planning applications lodged with the local authority to finish out projects.”
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Is it possible that not only do they not get two seats in Dublin central but that Mary Lou might, just might be in trouble? Can’t keep her foot out of her mouth lately. Outraged at 9 million for phones. And yet the government of N. Ireland are doing the exact same thing……
@Alan OConnor: nice photograph. Didn’t realise she had moved house.
@Alan OConnor: I think Mary lou is safe, but this will be a new strategy for SF as they need to run more candidates if they have any hope of getting into Government. The LE saw the strategy fail to an extent as where Janice Boylan was elected on the 12th count. with a few more had she run as a single candidate, she would have done a lot better.
Personally, I can’t see SF making huge gains with multiple candidates as their core vote is 15-18% and splitting that will make it difficult. But they have to do it.
@Alan OConnor: their strategy will be the same as last time, fill all the ballot papers across the country with candidates completely lacking in experience, as long as they promise not to sing ‘A Nation Once Again’, if elected
@Alan: Ah jaysus yeah, oul Mary lou from the flats!
@Mr Inbetween: did Sinn feign block the use of pouches in Northern Ireland?
@Mr Inbetween: £250,000 on phone pouches for 10 schools! Not a peep out of Sinn Fein… odd that.
@Alan OConnor: Harris should definitely know, and maybe you should read a little before rehashing his misleading sound bites. The DUP hold the education ministry in north assembly and because of the disfunctionality of that statelet, each minister has almost total autonomy of his/her department. Therefore SF have little to no say on this issue.
@Alan OConnor: her own foot soldiers disagree with the new woke stands
Everyone including/especially the poor have realised that everything depends on a successful functioning economy and don’t want to be an experimental Venezuela of Europe.
@thomas molloy: still, they would create a great country for paedophiles.
I’m glad Janice and Mary Lou have patched things up. Was it 2 or 3 years ago, Janice said that the party had humiliated her, and she promised to reveal all in a cryptic Facebook post? She then quit, but the party denied she had.
‘ I can not stay where I am not supported, valued or even really respected.’
@honey badger: specifically:My decision to resign is based on numerous promises that things would change, numerous times I have been humiliated and numerous times the party has failed to support me therefore made my role as a councillor harder than it ever needed to be.’
@Alan: All’s well that ends well, eh readers?
I wonder when Sinn Fein will cop on that Mary Lou is their main problem . Since she became party leader there have been a succession of own goals . Also , I get the impression that she is not allowing talented individuals to come forward as they might be a threat to her position . Considering the number of TD’s that they have the dearth of able people is extraordinary . Simply cannot see them hanging on to the number of seats that they have much less increasing that number .
@Des Hanrahan: I know nothing about Irish politics. Who will take her place ?
@offside again: We’ll have to wait till Belfast decides. It’s the way things are done.
@honey badger: “ its how things are done” only in your mind where SF live rent free!!!
@North Phone Bowe: Nothing was done about these guys:
Liam Adams.
Seamus Marley.
Martin Morris.
Michael McMonagle.
Sinn Fein has questions to answer. They’ve spent years ducking them. Maybe you’d like to explain…
@honey badger: maybe consider moving to this century?
@offside again: I have no idea.
@honey badger: Liam Adam’s served a sentence, Micheal mc Monagle is awaiting sentencing and Martin Morris was charged and attended trial to defend himself, a court of law which his accuser ran away from. So again your assertion that nothing happened to then is plainly false.
@North Phone Bowe: No thanks to Sinn Fein, who knew but did nothing. Who knew but moved the men to different jurisdictions. You already know this, slippery shinner.
@North Phone Bowe: they are all ball roots. Protected from within and by the very very top members of the Sinn Fein cult. Many of whom are female and constantly bang on about ‘human rights violations’. Make me sick. Disgusting perverts.
Mary Lou has become a liabilty to SF. She needs to be replaced by Pearse Doherty asap or they will lose a lot of theier seats next election. A very, very poor opposition party.
@Gerry Lamont: Keep her there, Doherty is only good for shouting.
@Gerry Lamont: while Pearse is very good with figures in front of him and is a capable finance spokesman…he has not been very good in interviews about other policies…he is the obvious candidate to replace Mary lou but I’m not sure if he’d do any better
If you’re working class and struggling or middle class and barely surviving, then you should definitely vote for FF and FG. The parties who’ve brought you the most expensive, overdue hospital in the world. The parties who give their mates lucrative contracts to build bike sheds and security huts. The parties who’ve bent over backwards not to enact the Illegal Settlements Bill. The parties who’ve allowed Irish airspace to be used to bring US WMDs to the Netanyahu regime. The parties who do nothing to ease the pain of children with scoliosis. The parties who’ve continuously failed you regarding housing and healthcare. You should definitely vote for those guys, they sound great!!!
@Anthony Curran: Nicely done, +1
Nonce party.
@Fintan Pox: Jimmy Saville could run for them if he was alive
@Buster Lawless: why does he have to be alive?
@Buster Lawless: lol
Mary Muslim Lou and her merry band of traitors are finished thank god.
@Trump23: The more you say it the dafter you sound.
Amazing Journal no place to query Sinn Fein attitude or response to sexual crimes by party members
With any luck Janice will get in and be the only sf elected. That would be a handy way out for Belfast!!
Get rid of usc and ill vote for you lot
Isn’t one of their measures to abolish USC for those earning under 45,000? https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/what-would-the-opposition-parties-have-given-you-in-budget-2025-if-they-were-in-government/a459096158.html
@9QRixo8H: get rid for ALL I say
SF will be no different from FF or FG if in government.
@AnthonyK: apart from the fact that we’d have a third world economy in a matter of weeks, with FDI disappearing like water down a plughole.
But at least their mentor, Putin, would be happy with his progress in wrecking the EU.
@AnthonyK: they have never been in Government. So you are speculating (another word for talking out of your Nat-king-cole)
@John Mulligan: putin? Ffs like. Sinn fein were (are) filthy animals long before putin entered the scene.
Sinn Fein about to commit Hari Kari by running too many candidates and diluting their vote so as not reaching quotas – all because they were told that they should have run many more last time.. bit dopey.
I’d be surprised if they swing two seats. With two failed local elections behind them and no new talent coming through, Janice is the logical choice. However, I’m sure SF aren’t in an even near situation of popularity they were in prior to the last generals. I wish them all the best but if they get the numbers wrong again, it brings SF’s decisionmaking, as a party into question.
As a person, I like Mary Lou. I like they way she stands up for people. But defending communities and leading a country are two very different things. Gerry & Martin were leaders but she’s not in that class (but neither are any of the other party leaders in fairness). My piont is, leaders come to the top. The current crop are skimmed milk. Only the cream rises to the top.
One thing is for sure, NEVER write off Sinn Féin.
“Should have ran”..tut tut
the Sinn Féin president said she is hoping for “third time lucky” in this election
Hope is a four letter word Mary Loo
She’d be better served trying to hang on to her own sear given their current performance.
have your say