IRELAND is still home to 1,258 ghost estates, an official report has revealed.
These developments have yet to be completed or demolished but almost 1,000 of them are occupied by residents.
Housing minister Jan O’Sullivan today launched the second Annual Progress Report on Unfinished Housing Developments.
The report states that 40 developments around the country have been earmarked for demolition, the cost of which would be borne by the developer, owner or financial institution in charge of the site.
But the Government claims the number of unfinished housing estates has more than halved since 2010.
Ms O'Sullivan explained that there has been a 56 per cent drop in the partially-built Celtic Tiger developments over a three year period as a result of several initiatives.
The Minister has also pledged to clean up the remaining unfinished housing projects by next year, and stated that residents of these estates would be catered for with alternative accommodation.
"I would like to see as complete a resolution of these difficulties as possible in the coming year," she said. "I hope to report next year that the difficulties we inherited have been substantially resolved."
Local authorities continue to urge developers to comply with their legal obligations and complete the problem of ghost estates.
Minister O'Sullivan said that a scheme set up in 2011 for emergency repairs to dangerous developments would be closed next year because funding applications had "dwindled to a trickle".
In October, the Government announced it would allocate €10million towards a scheme aimed at resolving the national problem of ghost estates.
