Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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365. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the average all-in cost of social housing units approved by local authorities for the past five years in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54387/22]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Social Housing Investment Programme (SHIP) funded construction projects by local authorities must, like all publicly-funded construction programmes, comply with the Public Spending Code and Capital Works Management Framework and accordingly, my Department periodically issues Unit Cost Ceilings (UCCs) for each local authority area, for use as a key benchmark for the development and costing of scheme designs at capital appraisal stage. UCCs are based on an analysis of returned data from tendered social housing schemes.

To monitor tender cost trends and to inform the UCCs levels, my Department analyses the tender data for the construction cost element of new build schemes approved under the SHIP, where sufficient information is available to allow such costs to be extrapolated and where the information available is appropriate for comparison purposes.

Outlined in the tables below are average construction costs (incl. VAT) per unit type, recorded as part of the aforementioned analysis for projects tendered in each of the years 2017 to 2021. The costs vary, depending on design, location and on the level of abnormal requirements for each scheme, for instance existing site conditions, demolitions, service diversions and site access requirements. Abnormal costs are also separately identified in the tables below.

The construction costs as shown, are derived from unit cost analysis and capture the construction cost element only including any abnormals (i.e. not all-in costs)

Over and above the construction costs, the all-in delivery costs include:

- Design/technical fees: Design fees vary from project to project, depending on the location, size and complexity of a scheme (and depending on whether design services are provided by a local authority in-house or via external appointment). As a guideline/indicator, design fees are generally expected to range between 7.5% to 12.5% of construction costs.

- Land cost: Land costs will vary significantly from project to project, depending on location and ownership status (i.e. land costs could vary from existing local authority land at no cost to land purchased at market value).

- Utilities: Connection fees for Irish Water, ESB, gas, etc. As a guideline/indicator, utility connection costs are generally in the order of €7k per unit.

- Other Costs: Other items that make up the all-in delivery cost can include site investigations/surveys, archaeological requirements, Percent for Art contributions - and will vary from scheme to scheme.

A range of factors can impact on the costs for individual social housing construction projects. Project-specific issues can always arise and will be central to how a project can be advanced and the costs for same. Addressing these design, construction and cost factors are part of the regular engagement that happens between my Department and local authorities, which is focussed on facilitating the earliest possible delivery of new social homes that are both high quality and value for money. To that end, as well as sharing UCCs with local authorities, my Department has provided a 'Design Manual' which will guide local authorities and their Design Teams/consultants, on the design of social housing site layouts and the internal layouts of individual social homes. These initiatives are important in the work to improve the quality, cost-effectiveness and pace of delivery of social homes and I look forward to continuing our work with our delivery partners to take advantage of these opportunities.