THE NATIONAL Asset Management Agency (Nama) is financing the demolition of a derelict apartment block at the Gleann Riada estate in Ballyminion, Co Longford.
The apartment block will be demolished over the course of the next three weeks, according to Nama. Only the derelict apartment block is to be removed from the estate.
In total there are 90 houses in Gleann Riada. The apartment block in question, made up of 12 unsold apartments, has fallen into disrepair, Nama said.
“Nama is involved with a relatively small number of so-called ghost estates, and our priority in those where we do have an interest is, first and foremost, to make them safe for residents,” a Nama spokesman said.
“Where it is uneconomic to finish out an estate or a part of an estate, or if the local authority deems it to be structurally unsafe, we will invest our resources in demolishing the relevant structure and ensure that it is made safe for other residents. This will benefit residents of those estates and make the estate safe from a health and safety perspective.”
Longford TD James Bannon described the situation as a “fiasco”.
He claimed the Gleann Riada development was built on a flood plain and should never have secured planning permission.