Galway Bay fm newsroom - Galway City Council paid private developers €350,000 on average for turnkey properties for social housing last year.
According to the Irish Times, it's costing some Local Authorities up to twice as much to purchase properties from developers compared to the cost of building the units directly.
Last year Cork City Council paid on average €307,000 for turnkey properties compared to €266,000 for direct builds, while Dublin's Fingal County Council paid €420,000 per property compared to just €209,000 for direct builds.
The figures have been released by the Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien in response to a parliamentary question submitted by Sinn Fein Deputy Eoin Ó Broin, however, no figures for the cost of direct builds in Galway city were provided.
Galway West Sinn Fein Deputy Maireád Farrell argues the lack of social houses being built in Galway city over the last ten years has lead to an over-reliance on the purchase of turnkey properties.
She says the Government must allocate more resources to the city council to reverse this trend.
