Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 June 2023
346. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage for an update on the revised social housing construction and acquisition caps for local authorities and AHBs under the social housing investment programme; and if he will set out the methodology and time period used in determining the caps and revised caps. [30602/23]
View answerMy Department issued updated Basic Unit Costs (BUCs - previously referred to as Unit Cost Ceilings) and Acquisition Cost Guidelines (ACGs) in April of this year for each local authority area. Both BUCs and ACGs are updated by my Department on an annual basis.
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 BUCs specifically relate to social housing build projects developed directly by local authorities or AHBs on LA/AHB owned lands, using the Public Works forms of contract. While not a record of actual delivery costs, BUCs are based on an analysis of returned data from tendered social housing schemes.
My Department monitors the tender cost trends and analyses the tender data for the construction cost element of new build schemes approved under the SHIP four stage approval processes across 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. This analysis and data in turn informs the BUC levels.
The BUCs and ACGs reflect anticipated benchmark levels at the time released, most recently Q2 of 2023. 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 BUCs and 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 where the cost of acquiring the property may exceed the guidelines provided, having regard to appropriate value for money considerations.
