Cost of building modular homes in Laois double their price tag

Prefabricated modular homes in Rathdowney for Ukrainian families fleeing war have cost double the price of buying them due to build costs but the State Architect estimates that they could be lived in for 130 years.

Details of the bill on the public finances were revealed to TDs recently at a Dáil Public Accounts Committee meeting chaired by Laois Offaly representative Brian Stanley.

The Sinn Féin TD and other politicians who challenged the Office of Public Works on the building of 700 modular homes around the county. A total of 42 semi-detached two-bedroom prefabs are accommodate 168 war-displaced Ukrainians in Rathdowney.

OPW Chairman John Conlon revealed to TDs that cost per unit of the homes to construct and buy was "in the region of €350".

Dep Stanley said the 700 homes were approved in 2022 and asked about the cost per unit. He added that the units measure 45 sq m, which he claimed would be about half the size of a standard two-bedroom terraced house. 

Ciaran O'Connor, is the State Architect attached to the OPW. He said there are two steps in the overall cost.

"One is that the units come out of the factory already made. That is €145,000, exclusive of VAT," he said.

He added that five firms are producing modular homes and the cost varies from €130,000 to €160,000, but the average is €145,000.

He said the homes are the equivalent of a two-person apartment because if they were to be repurposed for social use, they would match all the standards required.

However, Dep Stanley said a two-bedroom local authority house would measure 80 sq m to 90 sq m adding that the modular homes have a 60-year lifespan.

Mr O'Connor countered that a house must comply with a 60-year lifespan structural average for insurance purposes and the modular homes will last much longer.

"We reckon we would get about 130 years out of them," he said.

Dep Stanley asked specifically how much the Rathdowney homes cost per unit.

Mr O'Connor said he would have to check that but added that a new water well had to be drilled as an Uisce Éireann supply was not available. He said powerlines had to be redirected

Dep Stanle was concerned that the homes were very small but Mr O'Connor the technology was not there and the modular homes sector is an embryonic industry.

"The client requirement was for groups of two to four people, and that is the way the family groups came in from Ukraine. That was the most suitable unit to facilitate that. We also saw it as one that could be repurposed for social housing in Ireland at a later date," he said.

The State architect also confirmed that Sisk had the contract for Rathdowney and all the 700 homes built.

Dep Stanley remained concerned about the overall €350,000 cost.

"At the start, I believed these units would be much cheaper. They are coming in at a substantial cost. They are half the size of local authority houses that are constructed, aerated with heat pumps and all the rest of it and that are fully finished on properly developed sites by many local authorities for €280,000 to €310,000," he said.

Mr O'Connor said it must be remembered that all the services put into a site - water, electrics and all of that - would be exactly same as those put in place if we were constructing a two- or three-storey building.

"However, because of the size that was requested, we do not get the same economics, or scale of economics, working for us. In the case of Rathdowney, the number of units is not of the economic scale to build as we normally would. We deal with the sites available," he said.

Mr O'Connor said costs varied across the country due to ground conditions, knotweed and other problems cost.

He said future use after being vacated by the Ukrainians would be a decision for the Government. The meeting heard that the units are due to be used for emergency accommodation for Ukrainians until April 2026.