Modular homes at Columb Barracks nearly finished

The modular homes currently being installed at Columb Barrack for families that have fled Ukraine should be ready by the end of August, according to the Department of Defence.

Responding to a query from the Westmeath Examiner, the department said that the “assembly and installation of the units is well underway and it is hoped that the first units might be available for occupation by Ukrainian families in late August or early September”.

The delivery of the temporary modular homes at the barracks is the first “proof of concept” project undertaken by the state following a proposal in March from the Humanitarian Accommodation Working Group. Established earlier this year in an attempt to tackle the refugee accommodation crisis, the working group was allocated a budget of €20m.

Columb Barracks was chosen as an appropriate location to deliver the first proof of concept project, which will deliver 50 four-person modular units, with a total capacity of 200, at the site.