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Emergency powers to be granted to councils to buy homes for Ukrainian refugees
Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien is developing a multi-faceted plan to address the shortfall of space for refugees and will table plans in the coming days
Local authorities are to be given greater emergency powers to buy homes to house Ukrainian refugees in the coming weeks under plans being developed by the Government.
Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien is “urgently developing” a detailed plan to address the projected shortfall of 8,300 beds by the end of May, according to confidential Cabinet documents.
Senior Government sources have pointed to “an unprecedented effort” from across the entire apparatus of the State in order to minimise the number of people having to be placed in large communal refugee centres.
“Every lever at the disposal of Government is now being pulled,” said one senior source.
Existing powers which allow councils to purchase up to 200 homes for families “at risk of homelessness” are to be expanded in light of the influx of Ukrainian refugees.
At Cabinet on Tuesday, Mr O’Brien will bring a memorandum detailing “an expanded acquisition programme” where local authorities will have greater flexibility to acquire homes which would allow people to move from homelessness, and specific homes required for individuals with a disability or other priority needs.
Vacant social houses
Mr O’Brien will also outline details in relation to medium- and longer-term housing options in response to the Ukrainian refugee crisis. In addition to the greater powers for councils, he will seek approval for an expanded voids programme to return vacant social homes to use.
“The minister has emergency powers available to him under existing legislation whereby certain planning and procurement requirements can be exempted where required to speed up delivery in emergency situations,” the Irish Examiner was told.
Ministers will also be told that a cross-sectoral and cross-departmental housing task force has been established to develop longer-term housing options specifically in response to the war in Ukraine.
This task force is examining the medium-term conversion of vacant buildings (both state-owned and private) to suitable accommodation specifically for Ukrainian refugees and the longer-term activation of planning permissions which have not yet commenced.
There remains a high risk of shortages of emergency and short-term accommodation in the immediate term, the Cabinet memorandum on Tuesday will state.
The news comes as conflicting messages are emanating from the Government as to the timing of payments to families who house refugees from Ukraine.
While some sources in the Government said reports of payments of up to €400 per month were accurate, others closer to the finance side dismissed the stories as “total kite flying”, adding that any decision is “weeks away”.
Senior sources in the Government said some colleagues were “getting ahead of themselves” as no proposal for such payment has even been tabled let alone approved.
Meanwhile, groups representing refugees have said there is an "over-reliance on a volunteer-led response" to integrating Ukrainians arriving here, calling for an emergency task force or body akin to the National Public Health Emergency Team to be created to respond to the crisis.
A group of charitable bodies, led by the Irish Refugee Council, met with Taoiseach Micheál Martin as well as Children's Minister Roderic O'Gorman on Friday to discuss the arrival of up to 33,000 refugees by the end of May.
The group, which includes bodies such as Community Work Ireland, Doras, the Ukraine Crisis Centre Ireland, and the West Clare Family Resource Centre, said if the crisis is mishandled, there is a danger of racism emerging toward those coming here.
During the meeting, the groups warned the Taoiseach that the level of support and the range of services required will be far greater than what was experienced during Covid.
Following the meeting, the representatives said: "We are concerned that the difference in standards, approaches, and levels of support being provided are largely dependent on the strength of community infrastructure and local communities. The group is calling for the establishment of an independent, high-level national director to be appointed to lead the response to the crisis."