State asked for €500,000 each for six social housing apartments

The State has been quoted a cost of €536,638 for a one-bed apartment to be made available for social housing, in a development in South Dublin, the Irish Examiner can reveal.

In total, the taxpayer has been handed a bill of €3.5m for just six social housing apartments to be provided in a proposed development of 63 homes at the back of Oatlands College, Mount Merrion.

The revelation comes a week after Housing Minister Simon Coveney launched his Action Plan for Housing and days after it emerged that Transport Minister Shane Ross has opposed a new housing development in the Mount Merrion area.