THE NATIONAL Asset Management Agency will provide €3 million to fund urgent remedial work in ghost estates – partially completed and derelict housing developments – linked to loans held by the State agency.
Nama has loans linked to 28 of the 221 worst-case ghost estates. The remainder were funded by banks which did not transfer loans to the State agency. A spokesman for the agency said it hoped work on the housing developments would start by September.
“Whatever about longer-term solutions for the ghost estates issue, there is an urgent need to address particular problems in a number of these estates in the short term,” said the spokesman.
These included half-completed construction works, incomplete sewerage and road works and open-earth works, he said.
“Our focus in the short term will be on financing working to address these problems while we develop longer-term solutions for the problem.”
The agency is working with the Minister for Housing Willie Penrose TD and the Department of the Environment to fund the work on the housing estates.
Less than one-third of the funding available from the department to fix urgent health and safety problems in 180 “ghost estates” has been allocated to local authorities, it emerged last week.
A €5 million State fund was set up to allow local authorities address safety issues such as open manholes on the ghost estates.
