End of May arrival for refugees to modular homes

Ukrainian families fleeing the war in their home country will move into the new, rapid-build, modular homes in Cavan Town by the end of May.

The update comes as the Department of Integration has said that due to “current constraints” on temporary accommodation, as well as continued demand, it cannot guarantee whether those allocated houses will be refugees already residing in the county or new arrivals.

The site at Drumnavannagh, on OPW-owned land off Farnham Road, was identified as having capacity for 28 single-storey, semi-detached units, each with two bedrooms, 45 meters square in size.

The units are being manufactured off site in Ireland at an average cost of €145,000 each.

The cost does not include construction, delivery and installation, along with site enabling works, 32 on-street car parking spaces, bin storage, bicycle stores, pavements, public lighting, landscaping, ESB substation, and water connections.

Once completed, it's estimated the Cavan modular development will cost in excess of €8 million to deliver.

“It is likely that houses will arrive on site in early March and families will move in to the homes at the end of May,” said a Department spokesperson, citing a later date than previously announced.

They state that, while these rapid build homes will “initially be used” to temporarily house people fleeing Ukraine, they have the “potential” to be utilised to address other accommodation challenges in the area, such as social housing and student accommodation in future.

Specific planning regulations in place for emergencies such as the war in Ukraine allow for the development of rapid build accommodation. However sites can “only be used” for this purpose for a maximum of three years from the date the development of the site begins, after which a full routine planning process “must take place” to determine its future use.

“This process will examine all possible uses and full public participation will be welcomed,” said the spokesperson, who also confirmed that the build units “can be” uprooted and moved to other locations.

The HSE has been notified of the proposed number of residents for each rapid-build site and the associated potential healthcare needs.

The Department of Education has also put in place regional education and language teams, REALTs, to help Ukrainian families find school places.

According to the latest figures available from the Department of Education (March 1), Cavan had 223 Ukrainian pupils enrolled at primary level in Cavan, and 93 attending secondary schools in the county.

Along with Cavan, six other sites in Cork, Claremorris, Sligo, Thurles, Laois and Tullamore, have been selected for rapid build modular accommodation.