The Government has approved the provision of 500 modular houses as part of its plans to address the need to develop capacity for Ukrainian arrivals. Once in place, the modular houses will accommodate 2,000 people across 20 sites across the country.
The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage are assisting with finalising site selection. The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) and the Office of Public Works (OPW) will be managing the roll-out of the pilot programme, involving site preparation and the acquisition and installation of modular units.
The OPW has drawn up an ambitious Project Plan that envisages the installation of the first modular units on-site in early November 2022. The Plan envisages the programme is completed in 2023. Given the scale of work required, this is an ambitious, but achievable timeframe for the roll-out of the pilot/proof of concept programme.
Under the plans, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage will provide appropriate planning exemptions to enable the OPW and its agents to immediately access relevant sites to ensure the speedy delivery of the modular units.
DCEDIY will then take responsibility for ownership of the modular units and their future use.
The availability of state-owned durable modular units will provide the Department with very valuable flexibility of response for managing accommodation demand that is not currently available.
Further information on the rollout of the Modular Homes Programme will be provided shortly when the full details of the project plan for its delivery have been finalised in discussions involving the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Office of Public Works.