Only one in 10 unfinished housing estates identified last year by the Department of the Environment have been completed or made safe, new figures show.
Click on the map for details of unfinished estates in each county
More than 2,800 “ghost” estates - unfinished or vacant housing estates - were initially identified by the department’s 2010 National Housing Development Survey.
A more in-depth examination published last year revised that figure to 2,066 estates. A number of measures were put in place to address the issues.
Depending on the condition of the estates these ranged from the completion of almost finished developments, to making safe estates which were often effectively building sites.
A progress report published yesterday by Minister of State for Housing Jan O’Sullivan shows 211 estates have been completed or made safe.
Of the remaining estates, almost one third are tied up in legal action. These 636 estates are the subject of enforcement proceedings taken by local authorities which are in many cases trying to recover the development bond, which should have insured the satisfactory completion of the estate.
Local authorities have been successful in drawing down bonds to pay for the work on the estates in only 128 of cases.
Some €5 million had been set allocated by the department to allow local authorities to address the most urgent safety problems in estates.
Applications have been approved the department for €3.2 million to fix problems in 128 of these developments, safety work in a further 29 is being funded by the National Asset Management Agency, while the Health and Safety Authority is taking action in relation to 20 sites.
The department hopes to eventually recoup the tax payers investment in fixing these estates, in relation to 140 developments it has been unable to make any contact with developers or receivers or other bodies acting on their behalf.
While some small scale demolition has taken place as part of the safety works, Ms O’Sullivan said that “hard decisions” may have to be taken in the future in relation to demolition of estates which have no prospect of being completed or occupied.
