Refurbished churches may be used to house thousands of Ukrainian refugees in Ireland as the Housing Minister revealed an extra 35,000 permanent homes need to be built.
This startling figure is in addition to the 33,000 new homes the Government has said need to be built every year to deal with the housing crisis here.
And now the Government have confirmed that tented accommodation which is being erected by the Defence Forces at a campsite in Co Meath will also be used soon to house refugees.
READ MORE: Accommodation concerns as up to 30,000 Ukrainian refugees expected to arrive in Ireland within weeks
Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien said: “A lot of what we're going to be doing is taking maybe old commercial stock, old State stock and converting that into apartments or homes.
“We are going to have to look at providing permanent housing solutions in that space.
“We could potentially require up to an additional 35,000 homes over the period of time should we be looking at a permanently accommodating
“We need 33,000 homes per annum as you know under the Housing for All plan, which we're well on our way to delivering and we're increasing output every week and this year will be a good year for delivery, but the additional requirements could very well be another 35,000 homes.”
The Government has been scrambling to find accommodation after the Cabinet were briefed that 30,000 refugees could arrive into Ireland by the end of April.
Senior sources have said Ministers were flagged that the number of Ukrainian refugees expected to arrive in Ireland in the coming weeks will exceed capacity in hotels, B&Bs and private houses.
A Cabinet source said: “I don’t think the Irish people have grasped the scale of this refugee crisis yet and the impact it is going to have.”
Minister O’Brien also confirmed the bill for providing housing to Ukrainian refugees could reach €2.5 billion.
He said: “I've been asked to do so by the Taoiseach around looking at other measures on how we can expedite delivery of more permanent or semi-permanent housing and that involves a couple of things like looking at emergency planning powers that I could use potentially under the Planning Act, looking at how we can shorten procurements because one of the issues obviously when we go to build new estates or refurbish existing homes as well is the area of procurement and how long that that takes.
"There are some emergency provisions available to us there,” he told RTE.
It’s understood the Government is looking at converting and refurbishing churches to house refugees as well as vacant properties and prefabs.
Minister O’Brien has said around 500 properties have been so far identified which could be converted into homes for those fleeing the war in Ukraine.
He said: “There is an impression abroad sometimes that modular homes will be the solution to everything.
“They have a role. Off-site construction can play a very significant role... But will there be a requirement for some temporary accommodation through modular homes? I think so.
“I am asking local authorities to identify service vacant sites around the country zoned or unzoned.
“They could be anywhere around the country but there will be certain criteria around site selection.”
Cabinet were told there are around 600 arrivals per day, with three quarters of refugees seeking accommodation.
And at this rate we could expect 21,000 arrivals by Easter and 30,000 by the end of April.
READ MORE: Ireland could house Ukrainian refugees in tents as Government 'exploring all options'
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