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Minister expecting first modular homes early in 2023

Updated / Sunday, 30 Oct 2022 14:52
Mr O'Donovan said the OPW has condensed a 'convoluted' process into a 'sharp one;
Mr O'Donovan said the OPW has condensed a 'convoluted' process into a 'sharp one;

The first of the 500 modular homes for Ukrainian refugees will be completed early in the new year, according to Minister of State Patrick O'Donovan.

Speaking on RTÉ’s The Week in Politics programme, Mr O’Donovan said that all Government departments have been involved in the State’s response to Ukrainians who are fleeing the Russian invasion and that work is starting on the initial 500 modular houses.

"We hope to see the completion of the first of these houses in the first months, January and February, of 2023 which is on schedule from the original plan," he said.

Mr O’Donovan said that the Office of Public Works had placed the first contract with a principal contractor and that the Government had ordered an additional 250 houses from subcontractors.

He added that the OPW has condensed what is usually a "convoluted" planning and procurement process into one that was "sharp".

The modular houses will not be built exclusively in army barracks around country, but on land from several sources, he said.

"They’ll be on sites that have been provided by various public bodies including the Office of Public Works, local authorities, the HSE, the Department of Defence and others," Mr O’Donovan said.

Read more: Local objections to modular housing for Ukrainians

Sinn Féin's Spokesperson for Children and TD for Carlow-Kilkenny Kathleen Funchion criticised the Government's handling of the accommodation crisis that is facing refugees arriving here from Ukraine.

Speaking on the same programme, Ms Funchion said that the Government should look at proposals from NGOs to help alleviate pressure on the system.

"We're nearly coming up on a year later and at this stage there is very poor planning, if any planning, by Government," she said.

"There has been some really good recommendations, for example, from the Irish Refugee Council in relation to 60,000 vacant holiday homes looking at if a deal can be done with people who own those homes," Ms Funchion added.

The Carlow-Kilkenny TD said that other Government departments should also work on solving the issue, arguing it was unfair for all the work to left to the Department of Children and Minister Roderic O'Gorman.

Ms Funchion also condemned a social media post made by a Sinn Féin councillor that criticised Ukrainian refugees being housed in his constituency.

"Those comments are absolutely appalling, they shouldn’t have happened, and I believe he has been asked to remove that post," she said.

"I don’t stand over those comments in any way, shape or form and they are totally unacceptable," she added.

Ó Broin comments 'inappropriate'

Sinn Féin has branded comments by its housing spokesperson, Eoin Ó Broin, as "completely inappropriate" and not reflective of the party's view.

Mr Ó Broin told a festival in Roscommon last month that a senior civil servant at the Department of Finance, John McCarthy, should be fired.

In a statement last night, the Dublin Mid-West TD said his comments were "ill judged" and "off the cuff."

Speaking today's on RTÉ's The Week In Politics, Sinn Féin's spokesperson on Children Kathleen Funchion said the original comments were "totally wrong" and not the party's position.

She was pressed on Mr Ó Broin's statement last night in which he said he still did not believe that Mr McCarthy should be informing Government housing policy.

Deputy Funchion replied: "I'm just setting out what the Sinn Féin position is - and it's not that."

She added there was a "very clear difference" between ministers and civil servants.

Additional reporting Paul Cunningham

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