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Emergency Accommodation

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 5 May 2022

Thursday, 5 May 2022

Questions (70)

Richard Boyd Barrett

Question:

70. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage if he will provide a report on the vacant buildings his Department has already identified that might be used for emergency accommodation and if he will commit to continuously publishing this list as it is updated on a weekly basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22196/22]

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Written answers

The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) is responsible for meeting the immediate and short-term accommodation needs of persons arriving in Ireland from the conflict in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, my Department is focusing on the medium and long-term accommodation challenges and is leading cross-government efforts through a Housing Taskforce established by Government for this purpose. All options are being examined by the Taskforce, including refurbishment and reconfiguration of vacant buildings.

As part of this work, my Department requested central and local government to identify and inventory public or private owned vacant buildings that may be used or configured for multi-occupancy accommodation in the medium to long-term term. 

More than 500 vacant properties have been identified and notified to my Department to date. Some 90 or so, capable of accommodating around 5,000 persons, have been deemed suitable for almost immediate occupation and my Department has passed these over for use in DCEDIY-led response efforts. The remaining properties, and those still being returned by local authorities and Government Departments, continue to be screened and validated.

It would be inappropriate to publish the list of buildings given most are privately owned.

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