The government will release 8,000 vacant homes and reduce planning restrictions, and the Irish people will blow up again

There are currently 1.86 million Ukrainians in Ireland and the government plans to provide more housing.

In response to the Irish government's resettlement of Ukrainian refugees, changes to the "fair trade" rules are being considered, which could free up to 8,000 homes for rent.

Irish people: How come there weren't so many houses before?

Housing Secretary Dara O'Brien told the Cabinet today that he plans to speed up reforms to the nursing home support scheme known as the Fair Deal Scheme so people can rent out their unused, vacant homes without facing financial penalties.

The Fair Deal Scheme is a scheme that provides financial support to people in Ireland who need long-term nursing home care. It is designed to provide financial assistance to those who need full-time care, regardless of their financial situation.

Under current rules, 80 percent of rental income from vacant homes under the scheme is used by the government to pay for a person's nursing home care.

This rule change will allow income to be retained by homeowners.

A government source said the property leased under the scheme would not be limited to Ukrainian refugees.

They said the move was part of a broader leasing market initiative aimed at easing overall pressure on the market.

While the timeline for this change has not yet been confirmed, it is hoped that the new measures will be implemented quickly.

Since 25 February, 18,600 Ukrainians have arrived in Ireland.

The Cabinet was told today that the main challenge remains to provide suitable accommodation for those who arrive here.

A government spokesman said: "In the short term, including emergency accommodation, there are risks to existing capacity. ”

It is understood that the Ministry of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is urgently developing detailed recommendations to help address the medium- and long-term needs that are expected to arise, including delivery structures and accommodation options.

580 people arrive every day.

The current average number of arrivals for 7 consecutive days is 580 people per day, and the proportion of people seeking accommodation has risen from 74% a week ago to 81%.

By the Easter weekend, the number of people arriving in Ireland is expected to be between 26,000 and 32,000. Beyond that, government spokesmans said, predicting the total number of people arriving is challenging.

Given the challenges ahead, the Cabinet agreed that long-term options for providing suitable accommodation and housing for Ukrainians need to be studied.

A fully funded vacancy programme to renovate and sublease approximately 2,500 vacant units of local authorities will also be reviewed. In the past two years, about 6,000 homes have been put back into use.

In addition, a national "Building Appeal" campaign will be carried out to identify vacant units for rapid renovation for emergency accommodation and the possibility of using them as long-term permanent housing. The government will also take steps to explore unapproved planning permits and potential vacant land.

The Government also plans to use existing exemptions and emergency provisions in the Planning Act to expedite the construction of new housing to minimize planning restrictions and activate planning permits, including on zoned or non-zoned land.

A government spokesman said the overall impact on housing will become clearer as the number of Ukrainians involved and the length of time they may stay will emerge.

"The government will protect the 'Housing for All' scheme as much as possible at the current rate of delivery," he said. ”

As of April 3, 10,885 Ukrainians had sought accommodation through international protection.

So far, the Ministry of Social Security has issued PPS numbers to 17,567 people, and the Ministry of Education said the latest data as of April 4 showed that a total of 2,038 Ukrainian students were enrolled in 26 counties.

It appears that the labour crisis will soon be resolved at the cost of a further exacerbation of the housing crisis.

Irish reaction to the move:

Isn't it amazing that when the eyes of the whole world are focused on us, we can save the red tape and deliver the house?

Just wait for the "it's all Sinn Fein fault" water army to come. It was a real blow to the ten thousand Irish homeless who had been ignored by successive Republican administrations for more than a decade.

For Ireland's homeless and renters who have struggled for more than a decade, it's like a huge you*, but apparently the government's hands are tied.

A fund for the renovation of vacant local government properties... Gosh, why not doing this for Ireland's social housing needs is a bit shocking, how easy red tape can be cut, but we've been told for years that the government is incompetent when it comes to our social housing needs, which is driven by factors such as the market.

Why didn't we think of this before........