Dublin City Council’s reliance on emergency powers to progress housing projects will not be justifiable if sites continue to face delays, council chief executiveThe requirement, under Department of Public Expenditure rules, to draw up cost-benefit analyses for individual social housing developments is causing delays building homes, Mr Keegan warned the housing department.
The council chief was writing to John McCarthy, department secretary general, to tell him the local authority had failed to meet its housing building targets last year.Of targets to build 1,045 homes, both the council and approved housing bodies such as housing charities delivered 850.expects to directly deliver even fewer homes this year, down from 247 in 2018 to 187. The council has also said it expected to lease or purchase 60 fewer homes for social housing this year, down from 231 to 170.
Under Department of Public Expenditure rules, public projects costing more than €20 million must first undergo a detailed CBA, which can take months to complete.