Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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249. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the number of modular units ordered through an organisation (details supplied) to date for refugees/asylum seekers; if he will provide a breakdown of the suppliers that have been contracted through the organisation to deliver these; and the number that each individual company is contracted to supply. [24207/23]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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Arising from a Memorandum to Government from the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and considered on 26 April 2022, the Government decided on a range of measures to boost the supply of accommodation for refugees arriving from Ukraine. These measures included a rapid build, volumetric, modular option - the evaluation of which was to be led by the Office of Public Works (OPW). On 28 June 2022, the Government authorised the rollout of the pilot programme, to provide accommodation for 2,000 Ukrainians, predominantly women and children, in 500 family units at several sites across Ireland. In December 2022, the Government increased the number of units required to 700 in total.

Since then, my Office has been working collaboratively with the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth as the Lead Department, and a range of other bodies such as the Department of Housing, Local Government, and Heritage, local authorities, Irish Water, ESB networks and Open Eir to deliver this programme.

Following a procurement process, John Sisk & Son (Holdings) Ltd was appointed as the main contractor to manage the site enabling works and to arrange for the procurement, transportation and installation of the modular units for the overall programme of works. The procurement process was undertaken in July and August 2022 and approval to award the contract was given on 25 August 2022.

Subsequently, John Sisk & Son (Holdings) Ltd engaged in a separate competitive tender process with the rapid build homes manufacturers and assessed them to determine their capacity and capability to produce the homes to the required standard. Following this tender and assessment, John Sisk & Son (Holdings) Ltd established a framework of five suppliers around the country to manufacture the homes. Accordingly, the contract with each manufacturer is between that manufacturer and John Sisk & Son and not the Office of Public Works and therefore commercially sensitive information to the companies involved.

In October and November 2022, the OPW placed two orders (through Sisk), with the manufacturers on this framework for 500 homes. In December 2022, to secure the additional 200 homes at a fixed cost, the OPW gave an instruction to place a third order (bringing the total to 700). The production, transportation and installation of the rapid build homes is timetabled for delivery as site-enabling works are completed, ensuring the process is conducted as efficiently as possible.