Direct Labour Housebuilding Schemes
Asked whether direct labour schemes could increase completions, the Minister said local authorities had considered them and could choose their approach; Dublin City preferred public tender as likely to deliver more houses at lower cost.
Will the Minister state if any examination has taken place in his Department to see if the resources available for local authority housebuilding could be in part better used to produce a larger number of house completions by allocating part of the funds available to direct labour schemes?
Comment on this
I have not had notice of that question. The question of direct labour schemes has been the subject of ongoing consideration by various local authorities. In the local authority in Dublin city it was not accepted. We felt that the system of public tender would produce more houses at a cheaper price. That was the view of one local authority but others have different views. It is a matter for the local authorities themselves to decide which way they want to proceed.