Refurbished churches may be used to accommodate thousands of refugees as the Housing Minister revealed an extra 35,000 homes need to be built.
This startling figure is in addition to the 33,000 the Government has said need to be constructed every year to deal with the housing crisis here.
Ministers have also confirmed that tented accommodation which is being erected by the Defence Forces at a campsite in Co Meath will also be used soon to house Ukrainians.
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Darragh O’Brien said: “A lot of what we’re going to be doing is taking maybe old commercial stock, old State stock and converting that into apartments or homes.
“We are going to have to look at providing permanent housing solutions in that space.
“We could potentially require up to an additional 35,000 homes over the period of time should we be looking at a permanently accommodating. We need 33,000 homes per annum as you know under the Housing For All plan, which we’re well on our way to delivering and we’re increasing output every week and this year will be a good year for delivery, but the additional requirements could very well be another 35,000 homes.”
The Government has been scrambling to find accommodation after the Cabinet was briefed that 30,000
refugees could arrive into Ireland by the end of April.
Senior sources have said Ministers were informed that the number of Ukrainian refugees expected to come in to Ireland in the coming weeks will exceed capacity in hotels, B&Bs and private houses.
A Cabinet source said: “I don’t think the Irish people have grasped the scale of this refugee crisis yet and the impact it is going to have.”
Minister O’Brien also confirmed the bill for providing housing to Ukrainian refugees could reach €2.5billion. He said: “I’ve been asked to do so by the Taoiseach around looking at other measures on how we can expedite delivery of more permanent or semi-permanent housing and that involves a couple of things like looking at emergency planning powers that I could use potentially under the Planning Act, looking at how we can shorten procurements because one of the issues obviously when we go to build new estates or refurbish existing homes as well is the area of procurement and how long that that takes.”
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He told RTE: “There are some emergency provisions available to us there.”
It’s understood the Government is looking at converting and refurbishing churches to house refugees as well as vacant properties and prefabs.
Minister O’Brien has said around 500 properties have been so far identified which could be converted into homes for those fleeing the war in Ukraine. He added: “There is an impression abroad sometimes that modular homes will be the solution to everything.
“They have a role. Off-site construction can play a very significant role. But will there be a requirement for some temporary accommodation through modular homes? I think so.
“I am asking local authorities to identify service vacant sites around the country zoned or unzoned.
“They could be anywhere around the country but there will be certain criteria around site selection.”
Cabinet were told there are around 600 arrivals per day, with three
quarters of refugees seeking accommodation. And at this rate we could expect 21,000 arrivals by Easter and 30,000 by the end of April.
Meanwhile, Micheal Martin has indicated that measures around public spending next year may be impacted due to costs involved in taking in refugees.
He added that the State will target those most in need and people on lower incomes who are struggling with the soaring cost of living.
The Taoiseach said: “But in 2023, there will be costs and therefore the Budget towards the latter part of the year will have to reflect that and that does create challenges for us, economically and fiscally and so we’ll approach all of this in the context of the forthcoming Budget.
“The economic implications of this war are there and are there to be seen in continuing energy prices, in food security issues and now agriculture and food are bearing the brunt of this because of high costs.”
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