Refugees arriving into Ireland are being forced to sleep in temporary accommodation after the Citywest reception centre had to close its doors because it was packed.
The Integration Department made the announcement last evening that the hotel being used as the country’s main accommodation centre for arriving refugees from Ukraine was completely full and the gates were effectively closed.
Ireland has welcomed and housed over 58,000 refugees from Ukraine and other countries so far this year. One in four of all hotel beds in the country have been secured by the Government to house refugees since the Ukraine humanitarian crisis began.
Read more: Asylum seekers claim they are being treated differently to Ukrainian arrivals
42,000 of these are from Ukraine after Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin launched his brutal invasion of the country in February. It is estimated that there are another 13,000 Ukrainians staying with Irish families or friends as well, bringing to 55,000 the total number of Ukrainian refugees here.
The country has now reached breaking point as hotel contracts end and the Government exhausts its own publicly-owned buildings that could be used for housing refugees. This led to the doomsday scenario tonight that saw those arriving into the country spend overnight in temporary accommodation.
This has involved families having to sleep on camp beds and even on the floor when there has been overflows before. A spokesman for the Integration Department said: “The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth is now accommodating over 58,000 people (42,000 Ukrainian, 16,000 International Protection).
“This figures compares with 7,250 at this time last year. The significant increase in the number of people seeking accommodation in recent weeks has resulted in the Citywest Transit Hub reaching capacity.
“In the interests of the welfare of those presently at Citywest awaiting accommodation, a decision has now been taken to pause arrivals to the transit hub until numbers can reduce.
In the interim, the following will apply:
Entry to Citywest (for both IP and Ukrainians) will be paused and kept under review
Should capacity become available, entry to Citywest will be prioritised for families and those with vulnerabilities where this is possible.
For those arriving into the country as IP applicants or claiming Temporary Protection, if accommodation is not immediately available for them, communications with them will continue and supports will be offered through NGOs where possible,
All those who have alternative accommodation options are asked to avail of these, including pledged accommodation and to not attend Citywest presently.
The Department is working urgently across Government and with agencies, NGOs and local authorities to bring new accommodation on board so that the State’s humanitarian responsibilities can be met to both IPs and those from Ukraine. Officials from the Department also briefed the Ukrainian Embassy today.
“However, access to suitable accommodation is severely constrained.
“Current projections indicate a shortfall of 15,000 beds by December as the number of Ukrainians and IP applicants arriving is expected to remain at elevated levels.
“To date, the Department has contracted approximately 25% of hotel beds in Ireland, alongside hostels, guest houses, pledged accommodation, sports stadiums, scout facilities, tented accommodation and modular units.
“It continues to work to explore all suitable offers as it has done since March 2022.”
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