Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 April 2016
490. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government for an explanation for the doubling of the cost of providing temporary homes, modular homes and rapid build homes for those in hotel accommodation. [7792/16]
View answer491. Deputy Bríd Smith asked the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government the strategy for moving families from rapid build housing to permanent accommodation, given that there are no plans to build any significant amount of social housing to allow families move on. [7793/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 490 and 491 together.
My Department’s role in relation to homelessness involves the provision of a national framework of policy, legislation and funding to underpin the role of housing authorities in addressing homelessness at local level. Statutory responsibility in relation to the provision of accommodation for homeless persons rests with individual housing authorities.
In October 2015, the Government approved a programme to deliver 500 units of rapid-delivery housing across the Dublin Region for homeless families currently in commercial hotels. An initial 22 units are being delivered in Poppintree, Ballymun. In November 2015, Dublin City Council entered into a contract for the delivery of the 22 units in Ballymun at a cost of €4.2m excluding VAT. This is the original tender cost and remains the approved cost, equating to approximately €191,000 excluding VAT per unit. While a wide range of possible costs were suggested by various parties outside the tender process , including at the time that a variety of modular-type units were demonstrated in September 2015, it is only through the tender process, on the basis of a clear specification for high quality units, that a definitive project cost is established. The average cost of these units must be considered in the context of their early delivery and the quality involved.
This programme of rapid-delivery housing provision is being implemented to mitigate the issues associated with an increasing volume of homeless households accommodated in inappropriate commercial hotel arrangements. The units will provide accommodation for those families currently in hotels in the first instance, offering a greater level of stability while move-on options to long-term independent living are identified and secured. Furthermore, such arrangements will facilitate more coordinated needs assessment and support planning for access to all required services, including welfare, health and housing services. The temporary assignment of these units to homeless households, and the duration of occupancy by them, is a matter for housing authorities.
