THE TAOISEACH IS set to meet today with the minister responsible for modular housing targets over plans to deliver the accommodation units falling way off track.
The government committed last year to building 700 modular homes to help accommodate families who fled the war in Ukraine.
However, not a single unit has been delivered yet despite repeated promises about when the first homes would be ready.
Asked by The Journal about the lack of progress at a press conference this afternoon, the Taoiseach said: “I’m due to meet Minister Patrick O’Donovan as minister of the OPW today, both about Garda stations and about that matter.”
“I do have concern that we’ve fallen behind on that target. We’ll be taking that up today,” he said.
To date, the government has found seven sites which would collectively have a capacity for 312 rapid-build homes, The Journal reported last week.
The government first approved plans for 500 modular units to house 2,000 Ukrainians in June 2022.
At that time, Minister for Integration Roderic O’Gorman said the first of the homes would be completed in November and all 500 would be in place in late February or early March.
Minister O’Donovan subsequently said in October the first homes were expected to be complete by January and February of 2023, which was later pushed back to June.
The government increased the target from 500 to 700 in December.
Modular houses have been considered a viable option because of the speed with which they can be assembled. They are made off-site in a factory and built in “modules” that are then assembled and installed on the final site, which can take as little as four hours.
Additional reporting by Christina Finn
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