Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Yes, they do. We have some AHB purchases as well. It depends on the ground. There have been some complications with people who are on HAP tenancies in different local authorities residing somewhere else. That has come up and we are trying to work that through, particularly in the Dublin region but I do not want a property not to be purchased with a HAP tenant just because that tenant happens to be on the social housing list, for argument's sake, in the DCC area, and they are residing in south Dublin or Fingal or Dún Laoghaire. We have to work that through. This has created some complications.

The newspaper article referred to by the Deputy was based on a range of factors and it did not compare like for like. Location, type of site and the nature of the development did not come into it. The increase in tender costs is not comparing like with like, to be fair. They are not comparing the same developments. We are seeing year-on-year increases closer to 10%. There has been a levelling off of material price inflation. However, it is still challenging. There is a viability gap with some but the inflation framework brought in by Government and the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, Deputy Pascal Donohoe, last year has helped us to make sure that few developments stalled. Those that did stall got started again because we burden share on the increase - 70% for the government and 30% for the contractor. That has greatly helped. I have not seen all the detail behind that newspaper report but my understanding is that it was not comparing like with like. As the Deputy will be aware, prices vary depending on location, type of development, design, type of site, ease of construction based on the topography and various things like that.