Dublin Corporation claims it is building good quality housing but questions are being asked over the costs.
Corporation houses in Dublin are costing £40,000 to build and there are claims that the equivalent houses in the private sector would cost £10,000 less.
Fianna Fáil councillors are demanding an investigation into the cost of building corporation houses in Dublin. At a meeting of Dublin City Council's Housing Committee, Councillor Ned Brennan described the £40,000 to £47,000 cost of building nine new houses at Phibsboro Road as staggering. Councillor Brennan claimed that the equivalent houses built in the private sector would cost ten thousand pounds less.
Councillor Brendan Lynch defended the costs saying that he was quite happy with the tender for the houses saying that the quality of housing in the inner city were a credit to Dublin Corporation who are concentrating on quality housing that will last rather than quantity.
The aim of the Corporation has been for quality housing and not quantity.
Councillor Lynch also points out that the small size of the Phibsboro site makes the construction costs higher for the contractor. He is also critical of the Fianna Fáil legacy of housing in Finglas where the roofs caved in.
Brendan Lynch says that Dublin Corporation's record on housing is respected across Europe.
Dublin Corporation are the pride of Europe as regards their building and they've made Dublin a living city.
An RTÉ News reports on 23 March 1984. The reporter is Michael Good.
