THE FORTY WORST ghost estates in the country may be levelled next year, under a plan constructed by Minister for Housing and Planning, Jan O’Sullivan.

In conjunction with local authorities, the department has identified around 40 ‘candidate estates’ and has been in contact with banks involved to discuss the viability of their economic futures. They will now be looked at on a case-by-case basis to decide what the best course of action is.

None of the estates being considered for demolition are currently occupied and it is understood that most of them are at the very early stages of construction. In many cases, there are no completed units and only the foundations were set before construction work was abandoned.

The vast majority of the estates being considered are in rural areas and would not be suitable for either sale or for social housing as there are no local facilities or employment prospects.

A report due to be published by the department next week will provide further detail on the plan and on the 1,300 ghost estates that remain around the country.

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