Still no allocation plan as first modular homes for Ukrainian refugees near completion

Jun 24, 2023

The rapid-build modular homes nearing completion at St Michael's Drive, Mahon, Cork City on Tuesday May 30. Picture: Eddie O'Hare

The Government department responsible for housing refugees is still working to formulate an allocation policy for the first rapid-build modular homes for Ukrainians — just days before they are ready to be occupied.

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Against the backdrop of record homeless numbers, and the ongoing refugee and migrant crisis, construction work has finished on the first of the estimated 700 modular homes which are to be built for Ukrainians who have fled the war.

The 64 units were built on a brownfield site in Mahon, Cork City, in less than seven months — two months of which were spent clearing Japanese knotweed from the site.

The units will be furnished and equipped with electrical goods, kitchen utensils, and bed linen.

But with the first residents expected to move in by mid-June, the Department of Integration said it is still working on a policy for allocating the homes.

The department said it and its "implementing partners" are "in the process of compiling a very detailed update on all of the specifics related to the Mahon site and additional locations".

It is understood that a briefing meeting will take place next week with the intention of maximising the use of the modular units by focusing on families of four people.

It is hoped that priority will be given to those already living in the Mahon area whose accommodation may be coming to an end, but there has yet to be a clear decision on the matter.

The Mahon site was among several State-owned landbanks identified last year by local authorities as potentially suitable locations for rapid-build modular homes specifically for Ukrainian refugees.

Seven sites were deemed suitable for the delivery in phase one —

Further sites are being assessed under the wider programme to deliver 700 units around the country, the department said.

Following a procurement process overseen by the Office of Public Works (OPW), John Sisk and Son (Holdings) Ltd was appointed as the main contractor to manage all the site-enabling works and to arrange for the procurement, transportation, and installation of the modular units for the national programme.

Sisk then engaged in a separate tender process with rapid-build homes manufacturers and five suppliers were identified.

"The final cost per site will vary depending on the nature and quality of site conditions, existing services, and the outcome of the site investigations," the OPW said.

Social homes

Separate from the refugee crisis, the Department of Housing says it plans to deliver 1,500 rapid-build social homes before the end of 2024 for people on local authority housing lists.

It said it is working closely with all local authorities to increase and accelerate the delivery of social housing, including through the use of design-build modern methods of construction (MMC) — which includes prefabricated and modular build units.

The department said local authorities have been advised that rapid-build approaches should be adopted where appropriate to deliver social housing projects on local authority-owned land.

However, construction on one of the first rapid-build social housing schemes in Cork City, on the site of a former car showroom on Model Farm Rd, has yet to start despite it securing Part 8 planning last August.

The department also said €94m in funding was approved last December to address local authority legacy land debt contingent on the local authority committing to the early development of an MMC housing project that would start construction in 2023 or no later than 2024.

"A total of 26 sites received funding and with some additional sites, the department is now working to progress delivery of MMC projects on approximately 30 sites," it said.

"For the period to the end of 2024, at least 1,500 houses are expected to be completed under this programme."

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