Leitrim’s ghost estates could hold the key to more social homes
Leitrim County Council has already turned unfinished developments into successful social housing schemes
Ghost estates in Leitrim have presented a ripe opportunity for the county council to obtain social homes, says a local councillor.
In the twelve months before July, around 205 dwellings have been completed in Leitrim, according to the Central Statistics Office.
In the same period, there were 33 social housing units completed by Leitrim County Council, with more than 27 social homes in the pipeline at the beginning of 2026.
However, rather than building from scratch, using what is there is the fastest route to getting more homes into the county.
There were over 100 housing units in ghost estates available for development into social housing in 2020, with estates in Drumshanbo and Ballinamore being finished in recent years by the county council.
Even after the difficulty of acquiring the unfinished properties in the wake of the crash and dealing with vulture funds and receiver companies, these ended up as successful ventures.
“We bought some houses very worth the money over the years. I suppose the economic crash for some was a disaster, but for Leitrim County Council it provided an opportunity that they were able to buy houses in estates cheaper than they could build them,” said O’Rourke.
This article was part of a larger Leitrim Observer ‘In Focus’ investigation you can read here.