DUBLIN City Council is considering building modular homes to help alleviate to current housing crisis.
Cllr Naoise Ã? MuirÃ, a Fine Gael candidate in the Dublin Bay North constituency for the general election, said the construction of the houses, believed to be in the region of 400, would have a big impact in tackling the homelessness problems.
“These units are typically factory built and completed to the highest building and energy standards,
? said Cllr Ã? MuirÃ.
“They will provide secure and comfortable living quarters for many families who are currently housed in unsuitable emergency accommodation, including hostels, B&Bs and hotels.
“Referring to these units as
‘prefabs’ is misleading because it conjures up images of damp, draughty school classrooms from the 1970s and 1980s.
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Cllr � Muirà said that up until now, Dublin City Council has been
“slow
? in providing tangible accommodation alternatives for homeless families.
“Some politicians seem to be fixated on the notion that every house should be built one-by-one using some sort of new nirvana pool of direct labour,
? he stated.
“Factory-built housing is built elsewhere and assembled quickly, safely and efficiently on site.
“The units can be of a high specification, commissioned in bulk and delivered quickly, rapidly easing the discomfort and uncertainty of the many homeless families in this city.
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Cllr � Muirà added:
“Our Housing Strategic Policy Committee must show some bottle and get behind this plan so it can be implemented without further delay.
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A spokesman for Dublin City Council said that in response to the growing level of unmet housing need and particularly in response to families losing their private rented accommodation, it is considering all opportunities which facilitates the timely delivery of quality public housing, including modular build.
“This is in addition to a whole range of other initiatives under way in order to attract property owners to offer their accommodator for housing purposes,
? he told Northside People.
“The full detail of this can be found atwww.dublinlandlords.ie.
“As the detail of the initiative relating to quality modular build is at the planning stage, Dublin City Council is unable to offer further comment at this time.
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