The bursting of the decade long property bubble has left a swathe of unfinished houses and apartments across the country.
The number of these ghosts estates is now estimated at up to 650 developments, where more than half of the houses or apartments are vacant or construction has not been completed.
The documentary 'Ghost Land' looks at the reality of life in the aftermath of Ireland's building boom. The programme features residents who have mortgaged their future to homes in ghost estates. These families trapped by negative equity live in developments with no lighting, unfinished roads and empty buildings. How did the dreams of owning a home get lost in a 10 year frenzy of construction which has left the country with so many unwanted houses and apartments?
In this extract Dr Chris Sparks, a lecturer in politics and sociology at the Institute of Technology Sligo, and a group of students visit an estate in north Longford. In this development only 2 out of 18 houses are lived in. The group explore the estate with its overgrown gardens and abandoned unfinished homes.
Chris Sparks comments,
The place is full of the presence of people who were intended to come here and they just never arrived. This really is quite a spooky place.
Title: |
Ghost Land |
Clip Duration: |
00:05:04 |
Material Type: |
Video |
Clip Title: |
Ghost Land |
Series Title: |
Aftershock |
Information: |
'Ghost Land' formed part of 'Aftershock' a week of programmes on RTÉ which focus on Ireland after the economic crash. The series attempted to look at questions such as; how people were coping? What lessons could be learnt? How do we get from here to recovery? The extract shown here is from the programme 'Ghost Land' examining the huge number of unfinished and abandoned new housing developments. 'Ghost Land' was broadcast 9 May 2010. |
Local Keywords: |
Housing, Construction, Property, NAMA, National Asset Management Agency, Chris Sparks, Institute of Technology Sligo, Longford, Ghost Estates |
Coverage: |
Longford, Sligo, Ireland |
Topic: |
Society and Social Issues |
Contributor(s): |
Brian Walsh (Director), Ronan Kelly (Narrator) |
Publisher: |
RTÉ |
First Broadcast Channel: |
RTÉ One |
Broadcast Date: |
20/05/2010 |
Production Year: |
2010 |
Country of Production: |
IRELAND |
Original Identifier: |
PXD6/06316 |
IPR Restrictions: |
Rights Reserved - Free Access |
Rights, Terms and Conditions: |
Copyright RTÉ. This material may not be replicated in any form or manner without the prior express permission of RTÉ. Any form of reproduction in print, television, video, multimedia, web site or other electronic media or any form of dissemination for commercial or non-commercial use must be licensed by the RTÉ Archives. If you wish to licence video or audio clips, still images or text, or would like further guidance please contact us. RTÉ Archives are committed to respecting the copyright of others and have attempted to source and credit the copyright owners of all material used here. RTÉ would like to hear from any copyright owners who are not properly identified here so that the necessary corrections can be made. If you feel your copyright has not been respected please contact us. |
Item Type: |
part/extract |
Colour: |
Colour |
Sound: |
Stereo |
Aspect Ratio: |
16:9 (widescreen) |
Language: |
English (eng) |
