Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 July 2022
1318. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if he will report on the use of modular accommodation to provide emergency accommodation for Ukrainian refuges; the number of sites that have been made available to date by local authorities for this purpose; the timeline for delivery of the modular units on these sites; and the number of families to be accommodated. [41625/22]
View answerThe Deputy will be aware that the Government tasked the Office of Public Works (OPW) to lead on the design, development and delivery of any accommodation to be produced through modular/volumetric construction including associated site enabling works on available and suitable State land. My Department is the Approving Authority for the Programme and has responsibility for the ownership of the modular units and their future use. The OPW is the Sponsoring Agency for the purpose of rolling out the Programme.
The OPW's plan envisages the installation of up to 200 modular units on site by year end with a further 300 units to be installed in early 2023. The 200 units, to be installed before the end of 2022, will provide accommodation for 800 Ukrainian Beneficiaries of Temporary Protection, with a further 1,200 Ukrainians being accommodated in early 2023.
The first tranche of five to seven prioritised sites are being identified which have the capacity for the installation of the first 200 units before the end of 2022, subject to detailed survey results. A second tranche of sites, for the installation of the balance of the Units, will be finalised before the end of the month following completion of further suitability assessment work on them.
The OPW is on target to have a main contractor engaged shortly.
The expected timeframe for the construction of the modular units is 8-10 weeks. Site enabling works and modular manufacturing process will be underway simultaneously with the order and production of modular units. The programme is on track for the commencement of the installation process in early November 2022.
