Dáil debates

Thursday, 5 May 2022

Accommodation Needs of Those Fleeing Ukraine: Statements

 

2:55 pm

Photo of Emer HigginsEmer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I want to begin by thanking the people who are working at our reception centres, at Dublin Airport and at other ports. I thank the many volunteers, and those who have opened their hotels, apartments and homes to people who are fleeing the war in Ukraine. I also wish to acknowledge, in particular, the Irish Red Cross, the many other NGOs and their volunteers, who are playing such an essential role in this national effort. I extend a welcome, a céad míle fáilte, to every person who has arrived here since the war began. I know, from hearing the stories of many Ukrainian people who have come to Ireland, that home is undoubtedly where they want to be, with their families and friends, living in their own homes, going to work or school and living a normal life. Instead, they have been forced to flee, in many cases, leaving their loved ones behind and, in particular, the older people and the men in their lives. Few of us can imagine what it feels like to have one's life turned upside down like that. Words must be little consolation. However, I hope that people will feel welcomed and safe here, in their temporary home.

We have welcomed 27,000 Ukrainian people to our shores. Two thirds of them are women, and around one third of them are under 18. Of those people, 18,500 have sought accommodation from international protection accommodation services. There is no doubt that we, as a country, have a massive challenge on our hands. There is a challenge to ensure that each of these people is looked after and is housed appropriately. We do not want to add to their trauma in any way. I welcome that in addition to hotels, tourist accommodation and pledges made through the Irish Red Cross, the Government is also identifying State-owned or local authority properties which may be suitable for accommodation. I ask the Minister to consider engaging with the HSE before its site in Crooksling, in my constituency, is sold. There is an out-of-use nursing home there, with around 6,000 sq. ft of accommodation and facilities in Brittas, which is on a bus route to Dublin city centre. It could be repurposed to help accommodate Ukrainians. Now is the time to be innovative and to think outside the box, to bring in additional supply to our housing stock. Unfortunately, as we all know, our housing stock was not adequate to meet demand before the war. That is why we need to supplement it with additional homes that otherwise would not be available. That is why it is so important that we engage with people on the holiday homes front. We should really incentivise them to give up their holiday homes for the duration of this crisis, where possible, to accommodate Ukrainians. As others have stated, another great way of bringing more properties into use is to look at tackling vacancy and dereliction. We speak about the issue quite a lot. There are plans in place. Fine Gael recently launched a document on renewal. There are some good ideas in that that could quickly turn vacant or derelict properties into homes. It is also important that we look at the homes of people who are in nursing homes currently, through the fair deal scheme. I note that the Minister has made some commitments around this. It is very timely. These are all important solutions that could help us increase and add to our current housing stock. As Deputy Carroll MacNeill has said, a great way of doing that is by extending the rent-a-room tax relief. I understand that additional individual pledges are still coming into the Irish Red Cross and are being assessed. We all want to see that progressing as quickly as possible. The reimbursement that we have spoken about today is crucial to help tackle the cost of living crisis that families are facing. It is a big undertaking, and one which people should not enter into lightly, in giving up their holiday home or having a new family in their existing home. I think that supporting Ukrainian people with social welfare support services, as we have done from the moment they have arrived in Ireland, is key to giving them the independence and self-support to turn things around.

I know that it can be quite frustrating for some Irish people, who have their own housing problems, to hear us talking about this additional level of crisis in our housing market. However, I do not think this needs to be an either-or situation. We need to ensure that the efforts of the various Departments, that are working so hard to ensure that we are addressing the existing housing and affordability supply, are doubled down on. In the past 12 months, 22,000 new homes were completed, construction began on 35,000 new homes, and 43,000 planning applications for new homes were granted. Scaling up our social and affordable housing supply, increasing cost-rental delivery, improving supports for first-time buyers and returning our vacant stock to the housing market are all important steps to take at this important and challenging time.

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