Modular home sites identified for tenants during defective concrete repairs

Donegal County Council has identified potential sites for temporary modular homes to house tenants during defective concrete repairs.

The update came in response to a motion from Cllr Gerry McMonagle, who urged the council to prepare for the 'imminent' legislation for the remediation of the council's social housing stock.

The council revealed it has already identified some potential sites in the Letterkenny-Milford and Inishowen municipal districts for temporary modular accommodation.

The aim is to allow for the 'decanting' of social housing tenants from defective homes while remediation works are carried out.

Between 1,200 and 1,800 social homes owned by Donegal County Council are believed to be affected by defective blocks, with more than 1,000 of them visibly cracked. Of those, 83 units are lying vacant.

Cllr McMonagle has called on the council to ensure that temporary accommodation sites are ready for use when Government gives the go-ahead.

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"If the process is passed as soon as projected, we need to be ready to start on the 80 social houses currently vacant. Once that initial tranche starts to be remediated, where are we going to put the other people?" he asked at Tuesday's meeting of the Letterkenny-Milford Municipal District.

He warned that houses will “become building sites” when they are either demolished or undergo major blockwork replacement.

Cllr Tómas Seán Devine from the 100% Redress Party said members “have been banging on about this for a long time” and stressed the scale of the issue.

He said there are “potentially 2,000 homes in need of remediation”, including estates in Letterkenny where large numbers of residents may need to be moved out.

Cllr McMonagle called for plans to be put in place on how the identified accommodation sites will be used.