Local authorities in Dublin are paying private building contractors significantly more for social housing than their regional counterparts, in some cases almost twice as much, according to the Department of Housing’s own data.
The figures show the average per-unit cost of social housing, funded through the department’s Social Housing Investment Programme (SHIP), in Dublin City last year was €386,391. In the South Dublin County Council area and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown the per-unit costs were €356,789 and €311,235 respectively.
This compares to €194,389 in Roscommon, €209,107 in Donegal, €229,886 in Galway County Council and €236,571 in Longford.
Social housing costs in Dublin commuter counties were also relatively high compared to the rest of the country. In Wicklow, the average cost was €320,747. This was slightly ahead of Kildare (€317,175), Louth (€315,619) and Meath (€304,398). Fingal County Council in Dublin, where the average cost of a social housing unit was €242,003 in 2022, appeared to buck the trend.
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The figures, which are based on the department’s own audit of the construction costs of new-build schemes, highlight a significant variability in construction costs even when the units are being built on public lands.
However, the department cautioned that costs can vary for a range of reasons. “The range of costs recorded vary, depending on design, mix of unit types (eg bedroom numbers, apartment/house); and on the level of abnormal requirements for each scheme, for instance site conditions, demolitions, service diversions, [and] site access requirements,” it said.
The figures were provided by Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien in response to a parliamentary question from Sinn Féin’s housing spokesman Eoin Ó Broin.
Mr Ó Broin said the figures showed Dublin councils were paying over the odds for social housing. “Social housing projects in the capital tended to be involved in larger, more complex developments. The procurement rules effectively exclude a significant number of contractors from bidding for these larger projects,” he said.
“This reduces competition which results in higher prices and poorer value for money for the taxpayer. We need to see reform of the procurement process to encourage greater competition, as well as a move to a multiannual framework agreement to drive value for money,” he said.
The department’s figures also detailed a significant hike in construction costs across all local authorities over the past two years.
In Dublin City the average per-unit cost for social housing rose by 63 per cent between 2020 and 2022 from €237,377 to €386,391. In Cork county, it rose by 41 per cent from €212,373 in 2020 to €298,657 in 2022 while in Kilkenny it rose by 90 per cent from €178,891 to €340,559.
The findings highlight the rapid rise in construction costs since the pandemic and raise questions about the ability of local councils to control costs.
The department’s figures come in the wake of an independent audit of more than 1,000 Dublin homes, released earlier this year, which found that Dublin City Council has been paying in excess of 40 per cent more for the construction of social housing than private sector developers.
The report claimed council officials had been “severely restricted” in their ability to control costs within Government and EU procurement rules and systems.
