Social Democrats Housing spokesperson and Dublin Bay North TD, Cian O’Callaghan, is calling on the Government to act on the findings of a new report by moving away from the private sector provision of social housing in favour of a more cost-effective direct build model.
Deputy O’Callaghan said:
“This new report from the Irish Government Economic and Evaluation Service, which is a unit of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, shows that it is up to 30% more cost-effective for local authorities to directly build their own social housing than buying it from the private sector.
“These findings cannot be ignored. The Minister for Housing must take heed of this report and resource and empower our local authorities to build more social and affordable homes.
“When it comes to housing, the private market has failed time and time again. The consequences of this have been dire. We need to stop repeating the mistakes of the past and instead have the State play a more active role in the direct provision of social and affordable housing.”
November 6, 2020