Value for money should be a major consideration for any government. That is why the Comptroller and Auditor General expressed concern that State rent supplement costs in the private sector had risen from €151 million to €369 million in just five years.
The development was driven by a rapid growth in house prices; a shortage in social and affordable accommodation and the inability of people who rent privately to afford it. But the Taoiseach has indicated that these costs should begin to fall as local authorities provide long-term housing for needy people.
The British government faced similar difficulties. But it responded to a shortfall in local authority accommodation and rising costs by inviting builders and developers to compete on price for the construction of a social and affordable home. Last week Kingspan Century, an Irish company, was declared the winner with a timber-framed, two-bedroom, energy-efficient house costing €95,000. The price did not include site costs.
Now, these prefabricated homes will not meet the requirements of some families because of size limitations. Their modern design may not be appropriate in certain locations. And traditionalists will prefer brick and concrete constructions. But price, along with higher energy efficiency at a time of rising oil and gas costs, will make them very attractive for some first-time owners. And local authorities that own land banks or have acquired sites from private developers may consider them for social and affordable housing schemes.
Change and innovation, particularly in housing, is a slow process. Powerful vested interests are involved. And they can be expected to resist developments that might threaten their profits. In spite of that, change is inescapable and this timber-framed home may be a harbinger of things to come. It shows that house construction prices can be significantly reduced.
This year, the Government expects local authorities to provide about 5,000 social housing units, with a further 1,400 being provided by voluntary housing associations. Council waiting lists exceed 43,000, while about 60,000 people receive rent supplement payments. An element of "pass-the-parcel" operates here, as the Department of the Environment unloads some of the cost of social housing on to Social Welfare. That should not continue. There is an urgent need to address the bottleneck in local authority housing, for these figures mask considerable social hardship, overcrowding and the despair of many young families. The British government has provided an example of how prices might be reduced through competition. Irish local authorities should build on that.