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.
