Laois-Offaly holds the key to tackling 'ghost estates' - Whelan

Issued : Monday 17 January, 2011

''If you can sh**e you can plaster mentality by rogue builders gave all developers a bad name''
The problems created by 'ghost estates' will continue to haunt communities and the construction industry unless they are tackled in a determined and holistic way. Walking away from this issue is not an option and therefore any further delay in getting stuck in and fixing it is futile.

The Labour Party is committed to having the 'ghost estate' problem put to rest and recognises that the scale of the task requires a co-operative and collective response from all the stakeholders as otherwise it will never be resolved. Householders and residents associations must be included and need to be at the heart of any solution, but the extent of the problem is outside the remit, responsibility and quite frankly the scope of the local authorities. They too have an important role to play but do not have the resources or capacity to put things right on their own.
I am now proposing, and have secured a positive response from the Labour Party leadership, that we have to get all those responsible involved in providing a solution. Laois-Offaly, where the problem of 'ghost estates' is so widespread is a good place to start and show what can be done on a pilot basis which can serve as a blueprint for dealing with the estimated 2,800 'ghost estates' countrywide.
Having visited half finished estates and other developments with shoddy workmanship across the constituency it is easy to see the hardship and stress this is pouring on hard pressed householders. It is bad enough to be in negative equity, to be struggling to meet your mortgage but to be living in an estate which is unsafe for children to go out; a poor standard of build; constant problems with services and utilities; unsightly and unfinished properties and debris strewn common areas with no pavements or street lighting is totally unfair and unacceptable to families who have forked out such big money for their homes.
I have met residents who purchased phase one properties who personally witnessed the same workers laying blocks one day, plastering the next and then taking on the plumbing. I have firsthand experience of a developer on a Portlaoise scheme abusing a young labourer for not pushing ahead with plastering the slabs he had nailed up with the instruction: 'If you can sh**e, you can plaster!' after the young helper refused. These chickens are now coming home to roost as hundreds of families find themselves stuck in poorly built homes and not all the burst pipes recently are down to the cold weather, as I have seen water pumps and pipes with no insulation completely exposed to the elements.
The construction sector is finally wakening up to the reality that such rogue builders and this kind of shoddy work and shifty carry-on is giving all builders a bad name and turning 'developer' into a dirty word. Following recent discussions I have had with the CIF representatives they assure me that not only do they not condone such behaviour but they condemn it outright and want to play their part in helping to put things right. If everyone works together, Laois-Offaly is the perfect place to start in tackling and solving the situation of 'ghost estates' and in my view it is irresponsible of the County Councils here to be dishing out planning permissions for any more large blocks of houses and big estates until the issue of unfinished and unoccupied estates is put right first.
There have been enough reports ,enough talk and task forces. Now is the time for the Department of the Environment, the County Councils, the planners, the Construction Industry Federation, the banks, Homebond, NAMA, the social housing agencies and all other stakeholders in conjunction with local residents to put in place an action plan and commence the clean up and remedial work without any further delay as we head into the spring and summer. Labour in Government is committed to driving such an initiative and I believe Laois-Offaly is the best place to start.
When I met Labour leader Eamon Gilmore to discuss the issue with him at the weekend he assured me that Labour will introduce a comprehensive programme to resolve the problems associated with ghost estates. These include demolition/completion of part-built houses, as appropriate; the acquisition of homes for social housing, as appropriate and the sale of houses on the open market if possible, or by rent-to-buy schemes or co-operative home ownership schemes as just some of the initiatives Labour will undertake in Government without any further delay.