No specific research was carried out to substantiate claims by the Department of Housing that new apartment standards in Ireland compare favourably to those in other European countries.
New design standards reducing the minimum size of apartments were issued by Minister for Housing James Browne last week.
Under the new standards, the minimum size of a studio apartment is reduced to 32sq m from 37sq m, while there will be no restrictions on the specific mix of units within a development.
Announcing the new guidelines last week, Mr Browne said they “compare favourably with European norms”. Sources within the department repeated these claims.
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Sinn Féin housing spokesman Eoin Ó Broin asked Mr Browne, via a parliamentary question, to list the research papers on which this claim was based.
Mr Browne referenced minimum living space requirements in Spain (20sq m), the Netherlands (18sq m) and Denmark (20sq m)
While no research papers were provided, Mr Browne said “minimum apartment sizes throughout Europe are regulated in a variety of ways” and were not directly comparable to here because they were often based on minimum living space, as opposed to minimum apartment size.
Mr Browne referenced minimum living space requirements in Spain (20sq m), the Netherlands (18sq m) and Denmark (20sq m).
“In Ireland living space or living areas are generally referred to as habitable rooms (ie livingrooms, bedrooms, studies). In this regard additional space would need to be factored in for internal circulation, kitchens or kitchenettes, bathrooms and storage (c. 7-25sq m depending on the number of inhabitants).”
The Minister said the most direct comparison with Ireland could be found in the apartment standards in the UK, which sets minimum floor-areas within an entire apartment.
The minimum floor-space for a studio apartment in the UK is 37sq m, the same as previous guidelines here before it was reduced to 32sq m.
The minimum size for a one-bed apartment in the UK is 50sq m, compared to 45sq m under Ireland’s apartment standards.
The Minister was also asked to publish the analysis of the cost reductions per unit of accommodation arising from the revised standards.
The department has claimed the changes would result in an average saving of between €50,000 and €100,000 per unit.
These figures were based on cost estimates given to the department by the Land Development Agency (LDA), the State’s affordable housing delivery body.
However, the mooted savings were widely questioned by industry specialists, who believed actual savings would be much lower.
In response to the parliamentary question, the Minister said: “The LDA has advised that the information provided is of a commercially sensitive nature” and could not be published. Instead, the Minister provided a summary of those costs, rather than the original documentation.
That summary breaks down the minimum and maximum cost saving for each change to standards both per unit and across the scheme.
The biggest saving is to be found in the allowance of smaller units and a more flexible mix, with the summary of LDA costings estimating this will amount to a minimum of €30,000 per unit affected and a maximum of €43,500.
The potential reduction in balconies will save between €11,000 and €22,000 per unit affected, while the reduction in dual aspect apartments will save between €6,000 and €20,000 per unit affected.
In terms of savings to be made across a scheme, the reduction in lift and stair cores would save between €2,000 and €3,000, the reduction in community and cultural space would save between €10,000 and €15,000, and the reduction in the number of apartments that must exceed the minimum floor space would save between €4,000 and €7,000, the summary of costs said.
There is no estimate for how much would be saved on average per unit in any given scheme built according to the new standards.
