Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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130. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the land, properties or buildings the OPW or his Department have made available in 2022 for housing or accommodation for Ukrainian refugees or those seeking international protection; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56432/22]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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The Office of Public Works (OPW) manages a property portfolio in excess of 2,500 properties ranging from heritage buildings, commercial office blocks, green field sites, warehouses, Coast Guard Stations and Garda Stations. As would be the norm in such a large portfolio, at any given time, there will be a number of properties being refurbished or vacant. The State will always retain a number of vacant properties for future use. As a matter of policy, no property or site is disposed of until there is absolute certainty that there is no alternative State use for that property.

Housing

In terms of alternative uses such as housing, the OPW notifies all relevant stakeholders of any vacant, surplus properties that may be considered for housing or other State use. This includes notifying the Land Development Agency and the relevant local authorities or other State bodies.

While the provision of social/affordable and emergency residential accommodation is a function of the Local Authorities and the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, the OPW has in recent years provided:

- Eight residential units in Dublin City Centre that were transferred to Dublin City Council for use by the Peter McVerry Trust.

- A building in Crumlin, Dublin that is now licensed to Dublin City Council for use as a Family Hub.

- Five former Garda residences in Templemore that were transferred to Tipperary County Council for social housing.

- Two former Garda station properties at Goleen and Adrigole that were transferred to Cork County Council for social housing.

In addition, there are a number of properties that are in the process of being transferred to local authorities and the Land Development Agency, as follows:

- The former Central Mental Hospital, Dundrum which will be transferring to the Land Development Agency for housing purposes

- A further seven buildings and a site that are in the process of transferring to Cork County Council for social housing

- Two former Garda residences that are transferring to Tipperary County Council for social housing.

- A property at Carrigrohane, Cork City that is in the process of being leased to Cork City Council for housing purposes.

- The former Garda station at Inagh that is to be used as a local housing office by Inagh Housing Association following its transfer to Clare County Council.

It should be noted that buildings owned or managed by the OPW are primarily commercial offices, Garda stations, warehouses or others that are not suited to residential use. However, the OPW has actively engaged with the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government in providing information on any non-operational, vacant buildings owned. The Department then assesses those buildings in terms of what might be suitable for residential use.

Accommodation for Ukrainian Refugees

The OPW has been asked by Government to develop the programme of rapid build modular homes, on behalf of the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) who are the lead Government Department for the emergency humanitarian response. The OPW is the Sponsoring Agency for the purposes of rolling out the programme, with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (DHLGH) in identifying sites that might be suitable.

Those sites are then assessed by the Department (DCEDIY) in terms of location, access to local facilities, with the OPW undertaking the necessary technical site assessments. When sites are identified as suitable, the OPW will be responsible for site preparation and the acquisition and installation of the homes onto the sites. Thereafter, the DCEDIY will take over the management of the sites and the housing units.

In that regard, the OPW is contributing three of its sites for development – at Cavan, Thurles and Claremorris. These sites are included in an initial phase of site development on State owned lands around the country to achieve a target of an initial 500 housing units by February 2023. Other sites in the first phase are in Cork and Sligo (owned by the Local Authorities), with a number of other sites currently being assessed for further phases over the coming months, in order to reach the target number of homes. In addition, the OPW has made a large property in Shannon available to DCEDIY, which is currently being adapted for emergency accommodation.

The OPW has provided a list of its vacant properties, including former Garda stations, to DCEDIY, DHLGH and the relevant local authorities so that they can assess them for suitability for social or humanitarian housing purposes. The OPW continues to engage with other State bodies on a regular basis in this regard.