Dublin councils signal no further modular houses this year

No new "rapid-build" houses for homeless families living in hotels will be built by any Dublin local authority this year, despite Government commitments to have 320 under way by Christmas. So far, only Dublin City Council has built any modular housing – 22 houses in Poppintree, Ballymun, which had been due for completion last December, but were not occupied until May this year.

Figures from the four Dublin local authorities show that no other rapid-build housing will be completed this year, with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council not expected to complete any of the homes until the end of next year.

Under the Government's Rebuilding Ireland housing action plan, published last July, 200 rapid-build homes were to be completed by the end of this year, and another 800 by the end of next year. Minister for Housing Simon Coveney recently updated this target, saying that 320 homes would either be "complete or under construction" by the end of this year.

Dublin City Council last month started work on its second batch of rapid-build houses, 39 two- and three-bedroom houses a site at St Helena's Drive, Finglas, which it said would take eight months to complete.

Drimnagh location

The council hopes to start work shortly on three other sites – Mourne Road in Drimnagh, where 29 houses are planned, Belcamp in Darndale, with 38 homes, and Cherry Orchard, with 24 homes, which it expects to finish next year. However, no other Dublin local authority plans to start work on any modular houses this year.

Of the three other Dublin local authorities, Fingal County Council is the most advanced. It has identified two sites, one in Dublin 15 where it plans to locate 20 houses and another in Balbriggan, where it has proposed 25 houses. In an update issued in recent days, the council said a tender process was under way for the Dublin 15 scheme and construction was expected to start early next year, but tenders had yet to be advertised for the Balbriggan scheme.

South Dublin County Council has said it is preparing "tender specification" for 85 rapid-build homes at Brookfield Road in Tallaght. It estimates that 71 of these homes will be completed by next July, with the remaining homes due to be finished by the end of the year. It hopes to locate modular housing at four other sites, but says it is not yet in a position to make details of these sites available.

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council plans to erect 12 homes at George's Place, Dún Laoghaire, by the fourth quarter of 2017. It also intends provide "rapid-delivery" housing in Glenamuck and Churchtown, but has not yet determined a timeline for their delivery. A total of 54 rapid-build homes will be provided in the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown area, the council says.