Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context

170. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government the supports being provided to local authorities to ensure value for money in delivering social and affordable housing; the budget oversight mechanisms applied; and whether each authority is meeting its cost-control requirements. [64408/25]

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

As with all Exchequer funded projects, the Department as approving authority, assesses each project for suitability, value for money and compliance with the various requirements of applicable funding scheme before approval is issued.

My Department also publishes the Social Housing Construction Status Report (CSR), which provides detailed programme-level information on the status of social housing developments including those been completed, are under construction or are progressing through the various stages of the design and tender processes. This report forms part of the ongoing budget oversight and monitoring framework.

SHIP-funded construction projects by local authorities must, like all publicly-funded construction programmes, comply with the Infrastructure Guidelines (Public Spending Code) and Capital Works Management Framework. My Department periodically issues Basic Unit Costs (BUCs) for each local authority area, for use as a key benchmark for the development and costing of scheme designs at capital appraisal stage. While not a record of actual delivery costs, BUCs are based on an analysis of returned data from tendered social housing schemes over an extended period and updated based on published tender index information as required.

My Department has embedded the requirement to adopt a standardised approach for all Social Housing projects through adoption of the Design Manual for Quality Housing and Employers Requirements. Standard internal layouts and CAD Drawings are available to design teams. This is promoting a consistent approach nationally; it is decreasing the amount of time spent on reviewing proposals to achieve value for money; it is shortening detailed design phases; and it allows for a more efficient tender process.

To monitor tender cost trends and to inform BUC levels, my Department analyses the tender data for the construction cost element of new build schemes approved under the SHIP & CAS four stage approval processes for each unit type, where sufficient information is available to allow such costs to be extrapolated and where the information available is appropriate for comparison purposes.

The most recent Basic Unit Costs (BUCs) and Acquisition Cost Guidelines (ACGs) were issued in Q2 2025.

My Department also issues Acquisition Cost Guidelines (ACGs), updated on an annual basis, for each local authority area.

The ACGs provide cost guidelines for the acquisition by housing authorities, of second-hand properties for the provision of social housing. These guidelines reference lower and upper cost ranges along with an average/benchmark cost, which is representative of the average range of current (at the time of issue) prices across the local authority area. The same ACGs are used by the Housing Agency for the acquisition of homes under the Cost Rental Tenant in Situ (CRTiS) scheme.

The ACGs reflect anticipated benchmark levels at the time released, most recently Q2 of 2025. My Department continues to monitor tender price trends on an ongoing basis and all incoming funding applications are considered with such trends in mind.

The ACGs are not applied as absolute ceiling/limits, but instead act as a key benchmark for the development and costing of scheme designs at capital appraisal stage. Similarly, we will continue to consider acquisition proposals, of both schemes, where the cost of acquiring the property may exceed the guidelines provided, having regard to appropriate value for money considerations.

In relation to affordable housing, affordability and the chance to own a home is at the heart of Government’s housing policy, as embodied within the new housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025 – 2030. Government is investing an unprecedented level of funding to support housing supply, which will underpin, inter alia, the new Starter Homes Programme, delivering an average of 15,000 affordable housing supports annually to 2030.

Affordable housing solutions must deliver a significant discount on housing market purchase prices or rents while covering the cost of identifying, developing and delivering viable affordable housing schemes. As such, applications for affordable housing projects are assessed on their own merit in line with the criteria and conditions applicable under the different funding streams. Specific delivery costs per unit are variable and can greatly differ between both the affordable schemes themselves and the typology, location and overall layout of the developments in question.

My Department continues to receive and assess applications for suitability, value for money and compliance with the various requirements of the applicable funding scheme and the Department is committed to the provision of funding to local authorities and Approved Housing Bodies for the delivery of Social and Affordable housing projects.