Costing Questions Budget 2021 Housing, Local Government & Heritage 1. The all-in cost of building 100 €23.2m see breakdown below. social homes assuming national average ALL IN COST (HOUSES) ALL IN COST (APARTMENT) costs and a breakdown of one third being 1 bed, one third being 2 beds, Total Cost €23,240,000 Total Cost €25,640,000 one sixth being 3 beds and one sixth Average Cost per Unit €232,400 Average Cost per Unit €256,400 being 4 bed units, in tabular form. Notes/Assumptions 100 housing units Houses: 33 - 1 beds; 33 - 2 beds; 17 - 3 beds; 17 - 4 beds Apartments: 34 - 1 beds; 33 - 2 beds; 33 - 3 beds Assumed Location - National (Average) Revisions to statutory requirements if applicable going forward excluded Site abnormal works if applicable excluded All-in cost reflects a composite figure / unit to include the addition of site purchase cost, design team fees, utilities, site investigations, surveys, public art etc. as appropriate 2. The all-in cost of building 100 €25.6m see breakdown per table question 1 social apartments assuming national average costs and a breakdown of one third being 1 bed, one third being 2 beds, one third being 3 beds, in tabular form. 3. The cost to restore Traveller In accordance with the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998, housing authorities have statutory specific accommodation funding to responsibility for the assessment of the accommodation needs of Travellers and the preparation, adoption and 2008 levels implementation of multi-annual Traveller Accommodation Programmes in their areas. The Department’s role is to ensure that there are adequate structures and supports in place to assist the authorities in providing such accommodation, including a national framework of policy, legislation and funding. The below table gives a breakdown of allocations and drawdown from 2008 to 2019. Year Traveller Specific Capital Drawdown in millions Budget in millions 2008 €40 €34.7 2009 €35 €19.6 2010 €35 €16.1 2011 €15 €9.3 2012 €6 €4 2013 €4 €4.1 2014 €3 €3.2 2015 €4.3 €4.1 2016 €5.5 €4.3 2017 €9 €4.8 2018 €12 €6.3 2019 €13 €8.7 2020 €14.5 €5.9 to end Aug €196.3 €125.1 Traveller-specific projects and developments are focused on group housing schemes and halting sites. This includes meeting Traveller-specific housing needs through a range of mechanisms, including the provision of mobiles and caravans; the provision and refurbishment of halting sites and bays with sites; the refurbishment and extension of existing group housing; the return to use of void group housing; the provision of new group housing and the acquisition of property. As accommodation requirements for each local authorities’ Traveller Accommodation Programme is unique the cost of providing accommodation for each accommodation programme may vary considerably. 4. The cost of retrofitting and The cost of carrying out an energy retrofit on a social home depends on a wide range of factors including insulating all council homes dwelling size, year of construction, dwelling condition, and construction type. Initial indications suggest that investment in the region of €2 billion may be required to complete the retrofitting of the local authority housing stock, however further detailed analysis is required to profile the works required, taking into account that some 72,000 local authority homes have already had some retrofitting works carried out under Phase 1 of the Social Housing Retrofit Programme, which included attic insulation and cavity wall insulation. Also properties refurbished under the Voids Programme had insulation fitted and will need less additional retrofitting than other properties. 5. The cost of increasing funding The Department’s subvention assists LAs meet their inspection obligations in respect of compliance with the for rental property inspections by local Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations. The 2020 Exchequer allocation for same is €6m. authorities if the inspection target in Based on the current funding model, it would cost €10 million per annum to provide a subvention to local each local authority area was 25% per authorities if the inspection target was 25%. Accordingly, an increase of €4m would be required. year NOTE: This funding is supplementary only, and is provided to local authorities to assist them with their work as it relates to inspections of rental accommodation. It does not cover the full costs of the related inspections processes or inspections themselves. 6. The average cost of increasing The budget allocated for Energy Retrofitting of local authority housing in 2020 is €25m. The average cost of funding by 5%, 10%, 50% and 100% to increasing funding by the amounts above is as follows; retrofit local authority homes 5% - €1,250,000 10% - €2,500,000 50% - €12,500,000 100% - €25,000,000 The annual budget allocated to Dept. Housing for retrofitting of local authority housing, has ranged between €20m - €30m annually since the programme began in 2013 and the figures above are calculated using 2020 as the base year on which to calculate the increases. However new targets set within the Climate Action Plan will see 500,000 homes nationally, retrofitted by end 2030, including private and social homes. In that context, it is likely that some upscaling of retrofitting will be required for local authority housing. 7. The cost to double the funding Exchequer First Full Year Cost Notes for housing adaptation grants Funding 2020 €59 million Increasing by 100% would Exchequer funding to Local Authorities is allocated cost an additional €59 million in a single block each year to cover the 3 grants to the exchequer. available under the Housing Adaptation Grants for Older People and People with a Disability scheme for private homes. The detailed administration is the responsibility of the relevant local authority, including allocations under the various grant measures, which are not pre-determined and are demand-led. 8. To ask the estimated cost of The cost of carrying out an energy retrofit on a social home depends on a wide range of factors including retrofitting 10,000, 25,000 and 50,000 dwelling size, year of construction, dwelling condition, and construction type. This can typically can cost local authority homes between €30,000 - €40,000 per dwelling for a property that has not previously received any upgrades, shallow or otherwise to bring it up to a B2 BER. Using an average cost of €35,000 per dwelling the following are the costs associated with retrofitting 10,000, 25,000 and 50,000 local authority homes. 10,000 - €350,000,000 25,000 - €875,000,000 50,000 - €1,750,000,000 9. To ask the estimated cost to the A commitment to undertake a review of the proposed Narrow Water Bridge project was included in the Fresh state of the Narrow Water Bridge Start Agreement with a view to identifying options for its future development and this is also referenced in the Project; New Decade, New Approach document. Pending future decisions on the project, there is no firm project cost estimate. 10. The cost of establishing an The cost of establishing an Independent Electoral Commission on a statutory basis is currently estimated at some independent, permanent Electoral €800k -€1m. These establishment costs include current expenditure on office leasing, furniture and fittings, IT Commission equipment and systems and legal costs. The establishment costs are based on the costs incurred in establishing similar sized statutory bodies. Just to note, these are the establishment costs for an electoral commission and would not include the ongoing annual costs of the body. The ongoing costs would depend on the functions and responsibilities of a Commission. Climate Action, Communications Networks and Transport 1. To ask the Current Costings estimated cost of making public This sets out details of fare revenue collected by contracted pubic transport operators from all passengers in 2019, which is therefore the transport free in amount of additional subvention that would be required in the event that fares were eliminated altogether. It also sets out the amount of tabular form additional subvention that would be required in the event that all fares were reduced by 5%, 10%, 25%, 50% and 100%. including the estimated cost of making public transport free for all those aged under 25, under 18s and under 19s. This sets out details of the total fare revenue collected by contracted public transport operators from children aged 5 to 18 and students during 2019. The National Transport Authority (NTA) is unable to provide breakdowns for other age categories Children (5-18) Operator/ Revenue Stream Fare Box 2019 Dublin Bus €13,503,067 Bus Éireann €5,665,643 Irish Rail €7,622,120 Luas €2,493,887 Other contracted PSO services €2,500,014 Total €31,784,731 Student Operator/ Revenue Stream Fare Box 2019 Dublin Bus €3,384,797 Bus Éireann €12,379,165 Irish Rail €30,329,657 Luas €8,971,200 Other contracted PSO services €213,984 Total €55,278,803 Further information The National Transport Authority is responsible for the regulation of fares in respect of subsidised transport services. The estimates attached in Appendix 1 and 2 are the costs of fare revenue foregone. What is not included is the cost of the provision of additional capacity across the modes as a result of the additional demand generated by reduced or free fares. 2. To ask the Costings Current estimated cost of Increasing PSO funding by 10% would bring the total full year cost to €317,533,700. increasing the Increasing PSO funding by 25% would bring the total full year cost to €360,833,750. Public Service Increasing PSO Funding by 50% would bring the total full year cost to €433,000,500.