Row over Limerick plans to develop modular rental properties
Two prototype modular homes installed in Limerick City in September. Mayor John Moran has written to the Department of Housing about the reduction from six to two of the staff sanction. Picture: Manon Gilbart
A row has broken out between the Department of Housing and the Mayor of Limerick over plans to develop small, modular rental properties in the city, with aspirations to deliver 2,000 units now slashed to just 150.
John Moran, the elected mayor of Limerick, said a decision by the Government to reduce staffing for the project “fundamentally jeopardises the delivery of the programme”.
Prototypes of the modular houses were launched in Limerick in September, with two units going on display in Arthur’s Quay Park.
The prefabricated units can be combined to form three- to four-storey apartment buildings.
One prototype is a 23sq m room, including a small kitchen with stove, bathroom, and fold-down bed, while the second is a 32sq m “self-contained home”.
The smaller unit includes shared amenities such as communal living and dining spaces.
Mr Moran has said rents charged on the modular houses would be “significantly below market rates”, with the studio expected to be less than €1,000 per month.
Locations earmarked for their development include the Guinness Site, Caledonian Park, Clarina Park, and Boro Park.
In a letter to housing minister James Browne, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, Mr Moran says the department reduced the sanction for six staff to just two, with the project since being made a pilot.
“Without the full technical and administrative team, we will simply not have the capacity to move from feasibility in to planning, procurement, and delivery within the required timeframe,” Mr Moran wrote.
“It is even more troublesome a decision, as those posts were being funded, if necessary, by my own discretionary mayoral fund, and I was more than happy with the need and the impact they would bring.”
The letter, dated September 12, outlines that tenders had been submitted for a team to design 11 potential sites for the modular housing.
The price came to €2.5m, with Mr Moran saying this funding was urgently needed to “progress these sites in time for the Ryder Cup in 2027”.
“The mayoral fund cannot meet this financial requirement, and the council does not have an alternative funding source available,” Mr Moran said.
He added that the project was central to delivering 2,000 rental housing units by January 2027. Mr Moran wrote:
“I find that unacceptable in the round and so am unable to understand the logic of your officials, who have refused this sanction request.”
Mr Moran called on Mr Browne to “interrogate your officials, who recommended this decision, to see if we can get back to driving rapidly on all the sites”.
The overall cost to the project has been estimated by the Limerick mayor to be around €700m.
However, since the letter was sent, the project has been downgraded to a pilot programme as part of the Government’s revised housing plan.
The Department of Housing has indicated support for up to 150 units in its pilot phase, a Limerick City and County Council spokesperson said.
However, this would be subject to “further feasibility and cost plans” expected to be submitted by early next year.
The spokesperson added: “Two posts are sanctioned for the initial SMART housing programme pilot, which has now been specifically identified in Government’s new Housing Plan as a Modular Pathfinder Project.
“Limerick City and County Council understands that the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage will consider further resources post pilot phase.”
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