Leo Varadkar and his partner Matt Barrett have registered with the Irish Red Cross offering to take in refugees from Ukraine.
In a nutshellYesterday, the Tanaiste said that accommodation would be "the biggest challenge" for Ireland in terms of facilitating Ukrainian refugees.
It is expected that 10,000 Ukrainian refugees will be in the country by the end of today - Buzz.ie reports.
Varadkar said the ideal is to provide refugees with their own-door accommodation, followed by living in other people's homes and then communal living.
"At the moment we are relying very much on hotels and B&B accommodation around the country, but if we are at 10,000 now, we are likely to be at 20,000 by the end of the month. This is more likely to continue than slow down," Varadkar said.
Varadkar's spare roomVaradkar and his partner have offered their spare bedroom for at least six months and have registered this with the Red Cross.
"We got the acknowledgment, and what they are prioritising now is people who can provide a vacant property, own-door accommodation. That is going to be the priority for the Red Cross and the Refugee Council," Varadkar said.
"What they will do then is move onto people who can provide a room and are linked to public transport. We are in Category 2 in that regard."
20,000 other people have also registered their homes with the Red Cross, Varadkar urged them to be patient as the system sorts through the offers.
Bottom lineMany of those coming to Ireland from Ukraine have expressed a desire to work here. Varadkar said their qualifications will be recognised as far as possible.
