Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The context of the question is the Minister's remark that he is considering increasing the proposed number of rapid-delivery units from 500 to 1,000 in the coming year. One of the concerns many of us had when the rapid builds were first announced related to cost. My party is not against them on principle. If they get families out of inadequate and cramped emergency and hotel accommodation for short-term stays before they move on to long-term housing, they could have a role to play in tackling the emergency. The difficulty, however, is on the basis of the full cost the Minister has outlined, the unit cost will be approximately of €210,000. As RTE revealed in a "Prime Time" special, there is a potential additional cost of €500,000. Correspondence was exchanged between Dublin City Council and the Department, albeit before the Minister took office, regarding additional costs fro the 22 units in Poppintree. The city council will not comment on this but our concern is whether this is an additional cost that may also have to be factored into rapid builds elsewhere.

We are also concerned that given that many families remain in emergency accommodation, for example, in Dublin city for more than 18 months or in my own constituency in the South Dublin City Council area for more than 12 months, they may not be short stays. Can the Minister give us an assurance if he proposes an increase in the number of rapid builds, that there will be a significant reduction in the cost of the first tranche and that he will also do everything in his power to ensure people are accommodated on the basis of an emergency stay only and the units do not become long-term housing by another means?

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