Concerns have been expressed over the suspension of normal planning guidelines to fast-track the building of modular housing units to house homeless families in Dublin.
In late October Dublin City Council voted to support the development of clusters of modular housing at five sites in Dublin located in Ballymun, Crumlin, Coolock, Finglas and Ballyfermot.
In order to fast track the construction of these units, the Council supported a Department of Environment proposal that normal planning procedures be suspended in relation to the project.
Each unit will cost approximately €100,000 to build, bringing them close to the cost of constructing permanent houses. Twenty-two three-bed two-storey houses are scheduled to be constructed at the site in Poppintree, Ballymun, before the end of 2015 with the remainder build in the first half of 2016.
The Ballymun site was to be the location of a co-operative housing project. The Ó Cualann Co-housing Alliance has had planning permission to build 40 houses on the site for several years but failed to receive the financial support necessary.
Workers’ Party Dublin City Councillor Éilis Ryan has expressed serious concerns over the project, which will see Dublin City Council purchase the modular housing units from the private sector.
She said: “The high quality and affordability of some of the modular housing units does mean there might be a possibility of using them to tackle some of the worst effects of our housing crisis. However, like any model of housing, it should be delivered in a way that puts the interests of the public first.”
Ryan added: “This means ending the stream of subsidies, easy contracts and guaranteed profits to the private sector and instead maintaining public control over public resources. To ensure the scheme works for the benefit of all. This move is a clear indication that those in government are not serious about public housing.”
