Hundreds of houses are lying empty in Co Galway with a current value of around €1.4 billion - according to shocking new figures.

There is an estimated oversupply of almost 7,000 houses in Galway's so-called ghost estates caused by years of overdevelopment during the property boom.

The level is only now being fully realised, and the figures suggest it could take almost five years to clear the oversupply.

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They could be used to solve the county's hosing waiting list of around 2,100 families and individuals.

This month's report, from the National Institute for Regional and Spatial Awareness (NIRSA) aimed to determine the role of decisions made by planning authorities in the Irish property bubble.

The study 'A Haunted Landscape: Housing and Ghost Estates in Post-Celtic Tiger Ireland' found that many local authorities allowed an oversupply of housing to be created.

The report estimates that in County Galway, it will take around five years to clear the surplus housing stock.

(BMcC/KMcA)