OPW expressed frustration modular home sites not identified

The Office of Public Works (OPW) expressed frustration that suitable locations for housing Ukrainian refugees had not been identified at the time it was tasked with delivering modular homes to respond to the crisis.

The OPW’s head of estate management, Martin Bourke, told officials at the Departments of Housing and Children that a “rough list” of sites would be of “no use” to his agency.

A series of emails released under the Freedom of Information Act show the OPW put out an “urgent” call for the details of sites for modular homes in early May.

Plans to deliver 500 modular units from the end of 2022 and into 2023 were announced by the Government at the end of June.

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The OPW said on Friday that under the existing plan, 200 units to house 800 people are to be delivered by the end of the year with another 300 for 1,200 people in early 2023.

Installation is to start in early November and an OPW spokeswoman said: “Given the scale of works required, this is an ambitious, but achievable timeframe for piloting the roll-out of the modular homes programme.”

The Government this week discussed the possibility of increasing the overall number of modular homes to 700.

At the time of the correspondence released to The Irish Times, the suitability of sites identified for refugees housing had not yet been established.

‘Use for refugees’

The OPW was tasked by the Government with delivering modular homes on April 26th.

Mr Bourke wrote to officials at the Departments of Housing and Children on May 5th seeking a “comprehensive list” of sites approved for modular housing and “deemed appropriate for use for refugees”.

He said OPW chairman Maurice Buckley was preparing a brief Taoiseach Micheál Martin and other Ministers for the following week.

A Department of Housing official told Mr Bourke the list was being collated but added: “Just fyi – it has not been screened and is simply a listing, by State body, of the sites they have identified as available.”

The official said: “OPW will need to undertake further screening if a potentially suitable site is identified.”

Mr Bourke replied: “A rough list with no form of screening or analysis will be of no use to OPW.

“We need to know that these sites are available and that it is legally compliant to have contractors commence work on them.”

He added: “OPW need absolute confirmation as to which sites are suitable for use for refugees.

“OPW has no competence in the area of settlement of refugees which is for Dept of Children & IPAS [International Protection Accommodation Services].” He said: “We need to link up urgently on this.”

A Department of Housing spokesman said a list of sites was sent to the OPW on May 11th.

The OPW spokeswoman said the selection of suitable sites “is of critical importance to the roll-out” of modular homes and “there is considerable urgency attached to ensuring that this key enabler of the programme is addressed.”

She said “significant progress on the selection of sites, including the evaluation of their suitability for construction, has been made in recent weeks” and “It is anticipated that the site selection process will be finalised shortly.”