O'Brien 'pleased' as 400 applications made to house refugees in holiday homes

 Minister for Housing Darragh O'Brien.

Housing Minister Darragh O'Brien has said he is "pleased" with the uptake of an appeal for holiday homes to house Ukrainian refugees despite it yielding just 405 applications in two weeks.

The Offer-A-Home scheme was launched two weeks ago, targeting the 20,000 holiday homeowners who only use their property personally. 

The Local Government Management Agency (LGMA), which is managing applications on behalf of local authorities, has confirmed that 405 offers of houses or apartments have been made.

Those who participate in the scheme will receive a State payment of €800 per month tax-free. 

Under the initiative, local authorities will take offers of houses, apartments, or holiday homes for temporary accommodation, liaise with owners to assess suitability, and arrange for their use by people and families from Ukraine, largely replacing the Red Cross pledging system.

A spokesperson for Darragh O'Brien said that while the scheme was touted as being aimed at 20,000 people, there were never any concrete targets and that he was "pleased" with the uptake thus far. 

Surge in interest

Government sources said they are hopeful of a surge in interest after the Christmas period, saying January to June tends to see less use of second homes.

"It is estimated that there are approximately 20,000 holiday homes owned by individuals for personal use and it is these homes that the campaign is targeted towards. We are pleased with the uptake in the first two weeks and the awareness campaign will continue across local authorities."

Sinn Féin housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin said the low takeup was "disappointing" and called on the Government to rethink how it is advertising the scheme.

"We've seen this before with other schemes which are sensible in principle but are poorly advertised. Given that we know that there are 60,000 holiday homes, I'd be interested to see how the promotion is going.

"If there is low take-up there needs to be an urgent review of how it is being pushed to the public. If there were a proper rollout in March, we would have had a better understanding of the holiday home situation.

"For 400 homes to be offered is very disappointing and I would be interested to see what will be done."

'Half-hearted effort'

Labour TD Duncan Smith said he felt the scheme was "not well publicised" enough to make a real impact on the situation.

"This feels like a half-hearted effort to solve a strand of the housing emergency. If you're going to announce a policy, you have to resource it.

There are currently 5,500 people housed in pledged accommodation in Ireland, with over 60,000 people having arrived in Ireland since the outbreak of the war with Russia in February.

The offering system is due to be in place for six months and emphasised those who pledge this accommodation would get the €800 a month recognition payment. Those interested can use the website OfferAHome.ie to alert their local authority that there is a property available.

Most Ukrainians in Ireland have been housed in various emergency accommodations, including in up to 500 hotels. It is understood contracts for 360 of the 500 hotels in contracts with the State are up for renewal next month and the department is expecting the majority to extend their deals.