'Unacceptable' that cost of modular homes for Ukrainians doubled to €442,000 each

Vivienne Clarke

The chair of the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee has described the doubling in the cost of building rapid-build modular homes for Ukrainians as “unacceptable.”

The increase in the cost of the modular homes was revealed in the latest report from the Comptroller and Auditor General. The price rose from an originally estimated €200,000 per residential unit in June 2022 to a projected cost of €436,000 by June 2024, an increase of almost 120 per cent.

However, the Comptroller’s report said the latest projections of the Department of Integration indicated total costs for the project of €289.3 million, indicating a final estimated average cost per unit of about €442,000.

Sinn Féin TD Brian Stanley told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland that there needed to be clarification of the costs of the modular units.

In the case of the units in Rathdowney, Co Laois, the units were 45m² while a very small house would be 90m².

“So these are literally very, very small prefabricated dwellings. And if you look at the ones in Rathdowney, the cost per unit was supposed to be €145,000, by the time they were finished they were €345,000 for these 45m² units, that is unacceptable.”

Mr Stanley pointed out that the escalating costs of the National Children’s Hospital were over seven to eight years, while, in this case, the cost more than doubled in the space of “just over 12 months”.

“That is not acceptable. And we need to get to the bottom of it. And it's clear to me that the type of contracts being used, this has been clear to me for some time, that what’s being used by the State, the framework agreements and the other type of agreements they are entering into with contractors, are not fit for purpose, particularly for the taxpayer.”

The Office of Government Procurement should explain what had happened, he said. They had a role in scrutinising contracts.