Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in February of last year, my Department has continued to work as part of the whole-of-government response, with a focus on meeting the immediate accommodation needs of those fleeing the conflict. To date the State has provided accommodation to more than 55,000 beneficiaries of the temporary protection directive.

In response to the crisis, the Government has sought to provide a range of accommodation solutions in every county in Ireland, including Cavan. As part of this considerable national effort, the Government has approved the construction of 700 rapid-build homes on State-owned land, which will aim to provide accommodation to 2,800 individuals in family units. The Office of Public Works, OPW, is supporting the development of the rapid-build accommodation in conjunction with my Department. The OPW and my Department are currently rolling out the first phase of the programme of rapid-build homes on sites identified in Cork, Cavan, Tipperary, Sligo and Mayo. The installation of some of the homes has begun and this work will continue over the coming months. A comprehensive communications approach has been applied for each of the sites that have been identified for the first phase. The site in Cavan, on OPW land off the Farnham Road, was identified as having capacity for 28 units. It is planned that all works on the Cavan site will be completed at the beginning of April and people will start to move into the homes in mid to late April.

My Department is working with other Departments and agencies on the additional needs that will arise. We work closely with the Department of Health in relation to the healthcare needs of displaced people from Ukraine. The HSE has been notified of the proposed number of residents for each site and the associated potential healthcare needs. The Department of Education has put in place regional education and language teams, REALTs, to help Ukrainian families find schools. If the local school does not have enough places, alternative arrangements will be made to bring children to schools close by. In addition, funding from the €50 million community recognition fund in the Department of Rural and Community Development will be allocated to projects in the local area under the direction of Cavan County Council.

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