Homes for Ukrainian refugees will be found apart from social houses already committed under the Housing for All plan, the Housing Minister has promised.
Darragh O’Brien said that there will be 9,000 new social homes brought online this year, which will be above and beyond any housing provided for Ukrainians.
The State has already housed 20,000 Ukrainians fleeing the warzone and the Government has pledged there will be no limit on the numbers we will take in.
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Just over 30,000 have arrived here already seeking sanctuary and the estimates for the final numbers that will arrive range from anywhere between 50,000 and 200,000.
Mr O’Brien told RTE’s Today with Claire Byrne: “The State has been correct in its response to giving people accommodation to people who’ve come in from Ukraine - over 30,000 people.
“Now the State have so far accommodated over two thirds of those; the other one third have been accommodated with family members and that.
“And we’re working through the pledges (of accommodation), Roderic O’Gorman (the Integration Minister) is, I’m looking at the more medium term supports, like refurbishment of buildings within the city centre and right across the country which will free up some of the emergency accommodation that’s there.
The Minister added: “There is no question that the response that we have to help our friends from Ukraine, we have to be sure that is in addition to what we are doing on housing and I have been at pains to say that.
“So we protect the Housing for All plan.
“The additional accommodation that we’re providing, many of it is temporary or semi-permanent, is in addition to what we’re doing.
“And in some instances the repurposing of buildings, which we’re doing at the moment to more semi-permanent accommodation, these are the larger buildings across the country such as old schools, old hospitals, that kind of thing, could be used potentially in the future for other emergencies as well.
“So in many instances the work that we are doing in some ways may actually help to assist the situation going into the future.
“But I’m acutely aware of the need in relation to providing accommodation to our friends from Ukraine, that that is in addition to what we’re doing on housing.
“We are going to deliver 9,000 social homes this year, they’re all for people who are already in the social housing list.
“The 2,500 social homes that we’re bringing back in this year and that’s on top of 6,000 we’ve brought back in in the last two years and that’s for people on the social housing list.”
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