# "More than 19,000 people are still living in ghost estates"



## Brendan Burgess (17 Dec 2015)

*More than 19,000 people are still living in ghost estates*

I would have thought a ghost estate was an estate with few or no people living in them.  19,000 seems like too many people to qualify them as ghost estates. 

They might be unfinished, but they are hardly ghost estates.

"
The department's fourth annual progress report on unfinished housing developments also showed a 75pc drop in unfinished developments since 2010, from almost 3,000 to 668 in 2015.

Of the 668 unfinished developments, 492 are occupied. County Cork had the highest number, with 73 unfinished sites occupied. Some 34 undeveloped sites were in Kerry while 33 were in Tipperary."


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## Purple (17 Dec 2015)

19,000/668 is 28.
That's an average of 28 people per estate. That's hardly a buzzing environment.


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## so-crates (17 Dec 2015)

Brendan Burgess said:


> Of the 668 unfinished developments, 492 are occupied.





Purple said:


> 19,000/668 is 28.
> That's an average of 28 people per estate. That's hardly a buzzing environment.



Well more like 19000/492 = 38 people per estate - still hardly buzzing though


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## 44brendan (17 Dec 2015)

It's a matter of what qualifies as an "ghost" estate. I am aware of a number of unfinished estates in my general vicinity. These would be smallish estates of 40/50 houses which were originally built in phases. There would be 30 or so completely finished and occupied houses and the balance with only foundations/site works completed. The finished portions are fine with roadways open space all complete. Unfinished portions are well fenced off and while looking unsightly are not impinging on the overall living standards of the occupied properties. Would these qualify as "ghost estates" for the purposes of a banner headline?


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## Sunny (17 Dec 2015)

44brendan said:


> It's a matter of what qualifies as an "ghost" estate. I am aware of a number of unfinished estates in my general vicinity. These would be smallish estates of 40/50 houses which were originally built in phases. There would be 30 or so completely finished and occupied houses and the balance with only foundations/site works completed. The finished portions are fine with roadways open space all complete. Unfinished portions are well fenced off and while looking unsightly are not impinging on the overall living standards of the occupied properties. Would these qualify as "ghost estates" for the purposes of a banner headline?



Isn't the term "ghost estate" a David McWilliams created term? I presume the figures relate to the list of properties that are exempt from property tax as they have been classified as substantially unfinished. I doubt what you describe above is included. Think there is a list on Department of Environment website.


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## Steven Barrett (17 Dec 2015)

Some "ghost" estates I've seen look to have a near full occupancy but the paths & kerbs aren't finished. Recreation areas is nothing but wasteland with nothing but weeds on it. Manholes covers above road level as they never finished the tarmac on the roads. 

Certainly not somewhere you would want to move into and I would say impossible to sell.


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