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ALMOST 23,000 UKRAINIAN refugees have so far arrived in Ireland, with an average of 500 new arrivals each day.
The numbers are said to be putting pressure on existing accommodation provision with some 90-95% of new arrivals expected to be placed in dormitory style accommodation in community halls and sports halls.
Nearly 4,000 rooms in hotels and B&Bs have been providing short-term accommodation but the contracts with many of these providers are set to expire coming into the easter period.
A government spokesperson said today that some of these contracts may be renewed but that this may be “challenging” as hotels seek to make rooms available ahead of the tourist season.
The Department of Housing is involved in seeking plans for longer-term accommodation.
The government has said that about half of the 24,000 public offers of accommodation are not expected to come into use due to these offers either being withdrawn or because the homeowners were not contactable.
The ongoing effort to contact people who have pledged accomodation is expected to be completed by the end of this week.
As of yet, fewer than 100 people have been placed in pledged accomodation but this is expected to “significantly increase” in the coming period.
A tented village in Gormanstown and accommodation in the Citywest Hotel and Millstreet Arena in Cork are also part of the plans to house refugees.
It is now expected that the Millstreet venue will be available for use next week.
By the end of April it is estimated that the number of Ukrainian refugees in Ireland could be 34,000.
So far, 670 schools around the country have enrolled children or young people who have arrived from Ukraine.
Last night, US President Joe Biden accused Vladimir Putin’s forces of committing genocide in Ukraine.
During today’s Cabinet briefing, Taoiseach Micheál Martin described the situation in Ukraine as “very grave” and that it was beyond reasonable doubt that war crimes have been committed by Russia.
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oh wow, more public money flowing into private hoteliers. Guess the “emergency accommodation” wasnt filling the hoteliers coffers enough, so now it’s on to “short term” refugees (anybody who thinks the Ukranian refugee crisis is short term must be delusional, Ukraine isn’t going back to normal anytime soon). Ireland gets away with ripping its public off in the form of hotel “short term accommodation” and the HAP scheme in which renters are stuck in perpetual renting and public money flows to private landlords.
@Sean Stevenson: So where would you put them up? or would you refuse to allow them in, in the first place, and leave them suffer?
@Joe_X: Have a look at what the countries around Ukraine are doing. They definitely aren’t being provided with private hotel accommodation. I’m not suggesting abandoning them, but given this countries track record with private hoteliers being used for “temporary” accommodation I’m not even surprised at the government poorly handling even more public money.
@Sean Stevenson: that’s fair enough but then, I don’t consider a hotel room prime accommodation. Most of them long term would be a punishment.
When Leo, Micheál and Simon bid at the righteousness auction it was just a rush of blood to the head, caught up in the need to show how loyal they are to the Nato Komandants. Now they (we) have to pay the price.
@Willie Penwright: nice troll name you chose, well crafty
For those saying that once the Ukrainians have returned home, that we use the same solutions for our homeless, this makes the reasons we cannot quite do that very apparent. At the end of the day, the Ukrainian issue is temporary, they will be going home once the war is finished, but for now the government is using temporary solutions as a result: hotel rooms, Irish families hosting Ukrainian ones, the releasing of the fair trade agreement homes, and big areas of tents ( which makes me think of the pictures of the Japanese internment camps in the USA during WW2) Once the Ukranians go home, hopefully for the right reasons, these temporary accommodations need to revert to their owners. E.G. the hotel rooms to the hotels for business, or the fair trade homes sold on to pay the nursing homes.
@Joe_X: and face it…..tents are not acceptable full time accommodation for anyone.
@Larry O Reilly: First of all,look up the meaning of “temporary” there is no time frame attached they could be here 10 years for all either of us know. But their time here is still temporary. They are not residents of the country, and whenever it ends they will need to go home to rebuild their country. Second of all, you totally missed the point I was making, which is how the solutions the government are using for the Ukrainians cannot be used for our homeless as again they are temporary ( look it up). Finally, the “plant” I live on….nice lil oak tree down the end if the lane.
@Joe_X: I am quite aware of the meaning of temporary but you are the one that doesn’t understand the meaning, these people are here for in limbo for years, not EU citizens and no country to go home to, because of the destruction that will be left in the after mat of the war, cop yourself on before making ridiculous non sense comments
@Larry O Reilly: really. Only one making nonsense statements here is yourself. You obviously misunderstood the point I was making how the actions put in place for the Ukrainians are not suitable for our homeless and went off on an abusive rant by asking “what plant” am I on instead of actually discussing it. So if you wish to discuss it fair enough but leave out the abuse. And seriously, look up the meaning of “temporary”, they will go home eventually, nobody knows when, hence why I used the term!
We have taken a family of 6 in to our holiday home. They are very pleasent people.
We would like to take more but the increased costs are a concern – I am dreading the next electricity bill, I think a small stipend of €300 per family per month would help a lot.
have your say