Updated at 11:30am
DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL has issued a new tender for the provision of modular housing after cancelling the original one issued in December.
The council cancelled the tender for 131 prefab homes after an insufficient number of applicants took it up.
Modular housing was introduced last year as a quick-build solution to Ireland’s growing housing and homelessness problem.
The homes are based around the principle of stacking individual modules together to form a house. The attractions is that they can be produced off-site in factory conditions, and quickly assembled on-site.
The first modular homes were due to be completed in a site in Ballymun in December. However, protests as well as intimidation of building staff meant that the project was delayed.
Dublin City Council has now said that the units will be completed by the end of this month.
The building of the other 131 units in sites around Dublin will also be delayed due to the cancelling of the original tender.
While the units were initially meant to be completed by the summer, the council said that they are working towards completion by this autumn.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Pat Doyle, CEO of the Peter McVerry Trust, said that the cancelling of the tender was down to a technical issue, and that the homes should still be built by the proposed deadline.
“This is a technical problem,” said Doyle.
“Because of some of the wording [on the tender], it meant that some [developers] couldn’t meet a particular demand on it.”
“The project is still on track. The work on the groundwork continues as we speak – getting the sites ready, making sure the services are on site.”
“Although it’s disappointing that the tender was cancelled on a technical point, it’s being reissued today and they expect that they will still meet the deadline of early summer to get the 131 up.
Emergency situation
The remaining four sites earmarked for the building of 131 modular homes are in Finglas, Drimnagh, Cherry Orchard and Belcamp Avenue.
As the current housing situation is deemed an emergency, the council didn’t have to seek planning permission for these units.
A further 350 modular homes are also due to be built under proper planning procedures over the coming years.
Speaking on Morning Ireland, Doyle said that the speed of building of modular homes was their greatest attraction.
“We’re very concerned, we support the modular housing,” said Doyle.
There were delays in Ballymun, there were difficulties in Ballymun. There were protests, there was bad weather. But still the modular housing in Ballymun will be completed in 16 weeks.
“That’s fantastic you would get planning permission in 16 weeks.”
“We support the project because of the rapid speed.”
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