The crisis in social housing cannot be resolved easily and a permanent solution cannot be found quickly. But that is hardly an argument against providing a temporary remedy to help alleviate the problem for those most adversely affected by the housing crisis – the homeless. Dublin City Council has recognised that depressing social reality, and it hopes to provide a short-term solution. Dick Brady, the council's assistant chief executive and head of housing, favours building prefab units on derelict sites to accommodate homeless families.
As the number of homeless continues to rise, families seeking emergency accommodation have been placed in hotels. In Dublin 156 homeless families – including 341 children – now live in hotel rooms. And that, as Mr Brady has said, raises serious child safety concerns. Clearly, it is far better for families to live in a family-friendly environment; such that a prefab can provide – with adequate cooking facilities and separate sleeping and living areas.
The economic downturn, and the bursting of the property bubble, has taken a heavy toll on the building sector. Demand for new and second-hand houses has outstripped supply. This has pushed up prices and rents, and helped to increase the number on local authority waiting lists, as more and more households in private rented accommodation cannot afford to pay higher rents, and are at increasing risk of being made homeless. The Government, under the terms of its Construction 2020 programme, will publish a social housing strategy this month, which should provide clarity on its policy goals.
By 2020 the Government aims to triple the number of houses built annually, while for this year the Department of the Environment expects the total output for all social housing programmes to reach some 6,000 units. Meanwhile Dublin’s homelessness crisis needs a better temporary solution than hotel accommodation now provides, which the city council’s proposal to build prefabs now offers.