The government is drawing up plans to give local authorities greater emergency powers to buy homes to house Ukrainian refugees in the coming weeks.
That's according to today's Irish Examiner, which is reporting that confidential Cabinet documents show the Department of Housing is "urgently developing" a detailed plan to address the impending crisis.
"Today's Irish Examiner is reporting that Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien will detail 'an expanded acquisition programme' for local authorities - at Tuesday's Cabinet meeting.
It says the programme would give councils greater flexibility to purchase and rent homes so as to minimise the amount of people in large communal refugee centres.
The plan would reportedly also provide for an expanded Voids Programme to bring empty social homes back into use, exemptions from some planning requirements to speed up housing delivery 'in emergency situations', and the conversion of state and private-owned vacant buildings.
Some projections estimate that there will be a shortfall of almost 8 and a half thousand beds for Ukrainian refugees by the end of May.
Michael Dooley, RedFM News"
