Longford and Cavan County Councils are spending €33,000 and €14,000 more respectively on social housing units from private developers when compared to building directly.
Typically, one third of social housing units are direct builds, while two thirds are turnkey acquisitions from private developers.
2019 figures which have been obtained by Sinn Féin reveals that the average social housing unit when built directly by Cavan County Council costs around €170,000.
However, the average turnkey property costs the council just under €184,000.
In Longford, the average turnkey unit is more than €193,000, but the County Council can directly deliver a new-build for almost €33,000 less, at €160,500.
While it costs less for councils to build directly in many areas, it costs around €5,000 more in Monaghan, at over €184,000.
The figures revealed that Leitrim and Roscommon County Councils didn't spend any money on directly developing social housing last year, with the average turnkey property costing €170,000 and €155,000 respectively.
Councils usually procure around two-thirds of their social housing needs from private developers.
In some local councils, the average turnkey acquisition is almost double the cost of a direct build from the council.
In Dublin City, the council can build a social housing unit for around €181,000, while the average privately developed turnkey unit costs over €382,000.
