Calls at Fine Gael meeting for modular housing to benefit Irish as well as Ukrainians

Several Fine Gael TDs told Tuesday evening’s meeting of the parliamentary party that modular housing should be developed for use by Irish people as well as Ukrainians.

Martin Heydon, the Kildare South TD who is also a Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, told the meeting that some of the land that’s currently earmarked for the government’s flagship Housing for All plan should be used for modular housing and that if this is done, rapid build houses should be used as part of the solution for housing Irish people as well as Ukrainians.

Discussion at the meeting was dominated by the Ukrainian issue, with sources saying former cabinet minister Michael Ring raised concerns about capacity in the country. Sources said Mr Ring told the meeting he did not want to be misinterpreted in his comments, however.

Minister of State at the Office of Public Works Patrick O’Donovan was among those to say both people already here, as well as Ukrainians, needed to be looked after.

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Dublin Fingal’s Alan Farrell made a similar contribution, and also questioned why it had taken so long to bring army barracks into use as part of the response to the refugee crisis.

Leo Varadkar told Tuesday’s meeting of the Fine Gael parliamentary party that Ireland must emerge from the crisis in Ukraine “on the right side of history” and that while accommodation and welfare provision remain a “real constraint” no refugee will be turned away.

The Tánaiste said that the scale of the movement of Ukrainians seeking sanctuary here had never been seen in this country and that the numbers involved in the wider migration had not been seen in Europe since the 1940s. He told the meeting he wanted a new multi-million fund established for areas that have welcomed a lot of refugees.

He said that Ireland had to be “on the right side of history” when the Ukrainian plight is studied in years to come and that Vladimir Putin is weaponising fuel, energy and is now seeking to destablise Europe with refugees fleeing their home.

Mr Varadkar also told the meeting that he agrees with the Taoiseach’s assertion that if an executive cannot be established in the North, there cannot be a return to the direct rule of the past.

Some concerns were expressed at the meeting over the decision to liberalise Ireland’s licensing laws and extend opening hours with Mr Ring and Minister of State Paul Kehoe both expressing reservations about the move.

Sources said Mr Ring said reforms had made it impossible for people to have a few cheaper drinks at home - taken by sources to be a reference to minimum unit pricing - and now pubs would be open all day and night, which he felt did not make sense.

Former minister for justice Charlie Flanagan told the meeting that there needed to be sufficient taxis made available to cater for longer drinking hours. He said he had no problem with the new laws but that more taxis would be needed and that “European city Uber type” arrangements should be considered.

Minister for Justice Helen McEntee said she would meet all organisations with an interest in the legislation, and that the reforms were in the early stages.