Of course what also happened is that large areas of Ireland got covered in buildings that no-one wants to buy. The same thing has happened here in Manchester where I live (with significant but somewhat less dire impacts on the economy because the British economic situation is somewhat different). What no-one seems to care about or notice is that all of this pointless building has a dire effect on the local ecology as well as the economy. Negative effects include increased run-off of water - with a consequent increase in flood risk - and decreased biodiversity. In rural areas, of course, covering potential farmland in concrete means that that farmland can never be used for producing food if it is ever needed in the future.