Barry Cowen (Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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271. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government when he expects the national audit of construction costs to be completed; and his views on whether there is a need for a regularised quarterly review of construction costs by his Department or another body under its aegis. [8515/17]

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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Under the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, the Government is committed to a broad range of measures to tackle, among other things, some of the costs associated with the provision of housing in the interests of reducing construction overheads. A working group, chaired by my Department, has been established to undertake a detailed analysis, in conjunction with the construction sector, to benchmark housing delivery input costs in Ireland in order to identify potential economies and facilitate an increased level of housing output into the future. While it is intended that the working group will concentrate on the domestic market, the Housing Agency is currently advancing an independent review and analysis of delivery costs and international comparisons.

Both studies are expected to be complete in the first half of 2017. In respect of reviews of the findings arising, it would be premature to dictate the validity or timing of such reviews and any such decision can be in formed by the recommendations of the working groups on completion of their work.