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Ukraine War

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 5 May 2022

Thursday, 5 May 2022

Questions (58)

Richard Bruton

Question:

58. Deputy Richard Bruton asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the measures he proposes to introduce to address the needs of people arriving from Ukraine. [22142/22]

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Oral answers (6 contributions)

I strongly support the Government's policy in accommodating Ukrainian refugees. I am concerned about the continuing use of community halls and Army camps. I have two basic questions. One is to get assurance that the emergency response will have the budget and the authority to quickly change schemes - for example, for holiday homes and vacant properties. Second, I would like an assurance that this will not interfere with the ongoing Housing for All strategy the Minister is delivering for other housing needs.

The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth is leading the initial humanitarian response, including providing immediate and short-term accommodation for persons arriving in Ireland from the conflict in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, my Department is focusing on the longer-term accommodation challenges and is leading cross-Government efforts through a housing task force established by the Government for this purpose. All accommodation and housing options are being examined by the task force. These include the medium-term delivery of modular and volumetric accommodation, refurbishing or reconfiguring vacant buildings and stimulating and accelerating construction of new permanent-build homes. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, recently brought proposals to the Government for approval in this regard. These proposals include establishing an emergency vacant housing delivery unit in the Local Government Management Agency to support refurbishment of vacant buildings, assigning a director of service and a small team to co-ordinate the local response between agencies and community groups supporting the provision of services to Ukrainians, requesting each local authority to scope the refurbishment of at least one building capable of accommodating multiple families in their area and establishing a clearing house to resolve issues associated with planning permissions granted but not yet activated - these could be infrastructural issues such as water and wastewater.

Further options will be brought to the Government in the coming weeks and will be developed.

I refer to issues around emergency beds in each local authority area as well. Certainly in my local authority area, there is quite a considerable amount of activity and the local authority is being very proactive in trying to deliver both the emergency shorter-term options and longer-term ones.

To reassure the Deputy, this is working in parallel with Housing for All. We are quite clear that the Housing for All targets will be delivered as well in tandem with this, which is an immense humanitarian challenge right across Europe. The Government is determined to play a critical role in trying to support these families fleeing this terrible situation.

I thank the Minister of State for the reply.

I will ask the Minister of State a number of specific questions. There are 62,000 holiday homes and there is a window of opportunity to potentially bring them into use. It probably would need some level of payment though, to attract some of those 62,000 into use. They would be really valuable.

I welcome the fact that the Minister of State has an emergency vacant housing delivery unit, he has the Office of Public Works, OPW, looking at modular building and he has a clearing house in his own Department but it seems a quite complex structure. Should we not be going for a more focused singularly responsible leader for all of this response, whether it be modular, activating vacant property or removing infrastructural blockages and giving that body the authority to modify schemes, such as the lease scheme, in order that one could have a more speedy response without bureaucracy?

The Deputy makes valid and useful points. The task force that the Government has set up, which will meet next week, and the response immediately is being led by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth but all Departments are playing a significant role in that regard.

The issue of holiday homes is being considered and the subcommittee will look at that as well. I suppose what we are in is a unique situation unprecedented in our time. We have always had issues with refugees in this country and have not always dealt with them adequately. The response by Government now has been focused and determined.

Certainly, the point made by the Deputy in relation to that singular approach is substantially what we are doing in government but the role at local level by local authorities is critical here. That communication level, from the Government response right down to local authorities, is playing a considerable and significant role in trying to address this crisis.

Where the Minister of State is looking at State lands for potential modular use, will a material contravention process, which can be lengthy, still be required? How will the Minister of State get temporary use of lands for modular building that would not be too long delayed?

Specifically in relation to State land, "No" is the answer. We will be using the emergency provisions of section 181(2) of the Planning and Development Act to deliver that because this is a crisis situation. We are exploring other potential planning regulations which may allow for a range of developments to provide accommodation for Ukrainian refugees without the need for planning permission where they are required to meet the State's obligation under the EU Council Directive 2001/55 relating to the provision of temporary accommodation and protection to Ukrainian refugees.

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