Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 4 July 2023
358. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the most up-to-date separate capital cost ceilings and averages for each local authority for the Social Housing Investment Programme, part V, turnkey and acquisitions in tabular form; and if these ceilings have been reviewed recently or are in the process of being reviewed. [32327/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe current Acquisition Cost Guidelines (ACGs) and Basic Unit Cost Ceilings (BUCs) were updated and issued to local authorities in April of this year. These guidelines are reviewed and updated as appropriate by my Department usually 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 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 and act as useful guide for local authorities and AHBs to benchmark their projects against.
The BUCs and ACGs are not applied as absolute ceilings/limits, but instead act as a key benchmark for the development and costing of scheme designs at capital appraisal stage.
I will arrange to share a copy of both the ACGs and BUCs with the Deputy.
