KENNY WELCOMES PROGRESS ON DEALING WITH GHOST ESTATES

Posted on July 5, 2012 4:02 PM   |   Permanent Link   

Dublin North East Labour Party TD, Seán Kenny today welcomed a report on progress being made in tackling the problem of ghost estates which has been published by Minister for Housing & Planning, Jan O'Sullivan.

"The reports says that in June 2011, the Government announced a range of actions to address the problems posed by ghost estates. Most of these actions are contained in the Final Report of the Advisory Group on Unfinished Housing Developments and include bringing together developers, banks, NAMA, local authorities, state agencies and representatives of residents in creating a more co-ordinated approach to the ghost estate problem as well as putting in place site resolution plans, many of which are underway, that have a real impact on the ground and bring significant improvements to residents. Tackling public safety issues that have arisen on some unfinished housing developments is also an important priority.

"The report demonstrates that significant progress has been achieved in addressing the serious problem of unfinished housing estates. On 211 estates, work has been completed and issues are now resolved. In 523 estates, plans are now in place and in many of these cases work has commenced and significant progress will be achieved over the coming months. In addition, Government funding to target the most serious public safety issues has seen more than €3m invested in 128 developments to ensure that families and neighbours are protected from safety risks.

"I am very pleased with the report, but while progress has been achieved, I don't want to underestimate the challenge that lies ahead and I know Minister O'Sullivan would agree with me. We have to take on board the complexity of the issues and the reality is that it is taking time to progressively tackle the problems that have arisen but I applaud the extensive efforts being made by all those involved - from Minister O'Sullivan to local authorities, the Housing Agency, NAMA, the Health and Safety Authority and financial institutions that are starting to yield tangible results.

"This is a complex issue. The economic and housing collapse saw some people's aspiration for a home descend into chaos, with families enduring the hardship of living in the midst of an unfinished housing estate and rapidly increasing negative equity. Quick fixes are not an option, but I am determined that many more residents in unfinished housing developments will begin to see a real difference in their living conditions in the year ahead to the point where this is no longer an issue impacting on the day-to-day lives of families or constantly hitting headlines here and abroad."