The Government is set to create 10,000 more spaces for refugees in refurbished accommodation, Leo Varadkar has revealed.
The Taoiseach said the first "couple of hundred" of these would come on-stream in "the next couple of weeks" and that the new spaces would help hotels and B&Bs currently housing refugees to reopen for tourists. Mr Varadkar was speaking to reporters at the opening of a new sports hub in Tipperary where he also talked tough on deporting refugees who are here illegally, saying that there have already been 500 deportation orders issued this year.
Mr Varadkar said: "We’re doing everything we can. We’ve experienced a refugee crisis in Ireland the likes of which we’ve never experienced before and never imagined. Nearly 100,000 people have come to Ireland in the past year, mostly from Ukraine, but also from other parts of the world.
"And it is actually a considerable achievement that we’ve managed to find shelter and accommodation for almost all of them. We’d a very good Cabinet subcommittee meeting last night, so we believe that we can provide around 10,000 bed places in refurbished accommodation.
"The modulars (homes) are now a reality, the first ones are ready for occupation now in Cork and we’re going to scale them up as well. And we now have about 10,000 people living in people’s homes or in homes that were empty and have been pledged for accommodation.
"But the real challenge that we face is that the numbers keep coming in. There are still people arriving from Ukraine fleeing war there and of course, like all countries, thousands of people from other parts of the world seeking international protection here.
"So, it’s going to be a real challenge to get ahead of that because where we’d like to be is to get ahead of that and be able to start decanting people out of hotels and B&Bs and freeing up that accommodation again for tourism, but it’s hard to see when exactly that is going to be." The Taoiseach said that if people arrive here looking for asylum and do not have a good reason, they will be sent away again.
He said: "Because of international law, because of basic practicalities, people will arrive. And if people come here seeking international protection, we have to assess that application. Now, we have to assess that application more quickly because we want to give people who are genuine refugees status and we also want to say to those who are not, that we have a rules-based system and you will have a deportation order served on you if you’re not a genuine refugee.
"Nearly 500 deportation orders have been signed already this year alone, for example."
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