Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I share the view that, with this existential crisis in Europe, the essence of what Europe is and the values that it holds are under threat because of this aggressive act by Russia. We as Irish people have a responsibility to play our part. Notwithstanding all that, I feel we should be allowed to question policies, as we are doing today. When issues arise, we should be allowed to address them freely without any labels being applied. We all encounter specific scenarios in our constituencies. One such scenario that arose very recently for me was where there was a proposed accommodation site in County Cork, which is being made ready at present and is co-located with an educational establishment. I will not be specific about where or what the educational establishment is. Concerns have been expressed to me by parents about having a co-located facility with shared access to public spaces for adults and children. What issues might there be from the point of view of child protection? Could I guide the educational establishment to an identifiable person in Tusla or another body who could liaise with it?

If people have information, a lot of the heat will be taken out of issues. I can make the Minister aware of the specific site after this meeting. If some work were done now, that would alleviate some of the pressures I see building up within the community.

The second issue I raise relates to where buildings are being renovated or repurposed. I have encountered a couple of examples of this. In one case, the building that is being made ready for accommodation purposes would have had to go through the local authority and apply for planning. We all recognise that that hurdle has to be jumped at the moment. Nevertheless, this is one tool we as public representatives can use on behalf of adjacent neighbours where concerns have been expressed and where buildings being renovated feature clear breaches of planning law. I am no engineer or architect but clear breaches of planning law may be taking place to make way for accommodation. There is no apparent recourse for the nearest neighbour who, because of this retrofitting or refurbishment, might be very negatively impacted by it in terms of rights of way, access and so on. Can any mechanism be found through liaising with the local authorities to ensure that where buildings are being retrofitted, there will be a set of standards that are apparent and transparent to everybody? Therefore, if a person were making way for accommodation that is needed, he or she would know to adhere to those guidelines and be cognisant of who his or her neighbours were.

On modular accommodation units, technically, this comes under the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, but it would be useful to hear from the Minister, Deputy O’Gorman, regarding the proposed 500 modular accommodation units that are proposed to house 2,000 people. Do we have any further information as to the status of that? He may have spoken to this earlier and I apologise if he did. When we think of modular units historically, we think of them as damp, dank prefabs, but the technology relating to modular units has advanced a great deal. There can now be 60- or 70-year timelines on them. I am very glad to hear the Minister say tents will not be used, for example, but we could do a lot if there were a serious advance in respect of putting in place modular units that pass all the standards that are required. That would be a good and quick way to provide accommodation. The Minister might give his perspective on that.