An investigation by the Irish Independent, found that Irish councils have rezoned enough land to build almost 800,000 new homes that the country does not need.
According to the paper, ‘Local authorities have rezoned enough land to construct almost 1.1 million houses and apartments across the country. But official projections received by the government have found fewer than 300,000 new units are needed between now and 2016.’
It added: ‘The revelation highlights the extent of the role councillors and planners have played in fuelling the property boom which collapsed with devastating consequences.’
An editorial in the paper asked: ‘One must wonder whether councillors were affected by some collective mania or whether any brown envelopes, fat or slim, ever changed hands.’ Strong words.
The Irish government is now moving to force the councils to ‘de-zone’ the land for other uses.
Ireland is currently suffering a massive glut in new homes with so-called ‘ghost estates’ standing empty in the wake of the economic crash which has hit the country badly (it’s said the only difference between Ireland and Iceland is one letter and a few months).
North of the border has suffered too with prices continuing to fall as the rest of the UK stabilises.
Take a drive through Belfast and you will immediately notice the masses of vacant sites along its main roads where family homes were demolished to build luxury flats in the boom and are now blighting neighbourhoods in the bust.
