Reacting to the news that Dublin City Council were forced to cancel their initial €20 million tender for modular housing, Jimmy Dignam said:
‘Dublin City Council should cancel their plans for modular housing completely. The whole process has been poorly thought out. We were told the houses would be cheaper than properly constructed housing, this turned out to be untrue. We were told some of them would be ready by Christmas, again this turned out to be untrue. The homelessness crisis requires urgent action but it must carefully planned and cost-effective.’
Dignam continued:
‘The choice of sites for modular housing leaves a lot to be desired. According to documents I have received under the Freedom of Information Act, only four sites in the whole of the South East area of Dublin City Council (South East area includes Rathmines, Rathgar, Terenure, Ringsend, Donnybrook, Ballsbridge, Sandymount) were raised as possible locations for modular housing. None of those sites were in the wealthiest parts of the South East area, and only one site, on the Poolbeg Road in Ringsend, was seriously considered.’
‘By contrast, Dublin City Council identified and investigated at least 10 possible sites in the Central Area including O’Devaney Gardens and St. Mary’s Mansions, at least 7 possible sites in Finglas South and West in the North West Area, at least 14 sites in the South Central Area including 4 possible sites in Cherry Orchard and at least 7 possible areas in the North Central area, 6 of which were concentrated around Belcamp and Darndale.’
Dignam concluded:
‘There is no doubt that there is a need for more housing to cater for people in Ballymun, Finglas, Cherry Orchard and Darndale, given the length of the housing waiting list in those areas. However, these are areas of high deprivation that are also lacking in vital community facilities and employment opportunities. Social housing construction in these areas is necessary but must be balanced with vital investment in the community, rather than panicked and badly planned responses to the housing crisis. The appropriate response to this crisis is a programme of social housing construction across the city, including in wealthy areas which are well serviced and have land available for housing construction.’