MARY LOU MCDONALD has said the Government must take full responsibility for the lack of accommodation for international protection applicants and people fleeing Ukraine, which she said they have handled “very badly”.
It comes after Cabinet was briefed on the crisis yesterday, with Minister for Integration Roderic O’Gorman telling his colleagues that sourcing accommodation is becoming increasingly difficult.
The Sinn Féin leader also agreed with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Tánaiste Micheál Martin’s condemnation of anti-refugee protests that have been taking place in Ballymun over recent days, saying that the protests are “absolutely the wrong approach”.
Videos emerged over the weekend of a crowd of people outside a building in Ballymun where families were living, chanting “get them out”, with one person holding a sign saying “Ireland is full”.
There has been condemnation of the protests across the political spectrum, with local Sinn Féin TD Dessie Ellis saying in a statement that “protests in recents days against refugees in Ballymun do not represent the extraordinary, diverse and welcoming community that it is”.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland programme, McDonald said: “I am inclined to agree with the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste’s remarks on that.
“I think however, Government is not a spectator or a commentator on this matter, and I think they have to take full responsibility for the fact that they have handled these matters very badly,” she said.
“They also have to recognise the fact that we have two things in parallel quite outside of the crisis in Ukraine and the subsequent surge in refugees, and that is an asylum system, a Direct Provision system that has been roundly condemned, that is too slow, not properly resourced, that leaves people in limbo. That’s been a reality of Irish life Government-in and Government-out.
“Secondly, we’re living with an accommodation and a housing emergency, and that’s causing real suffering, real pain to real people, many of whom live in communities that do not have access to the types of supports and public services that they’re rightly entitled to.”
McDonald said people have a right to protest, but that it should not be against refugees.
“It’s my direct experience with people across Irish society, including those under the most economic pressure, and not everybody is in that place, but lots of people are, that the fundamental instinct of Irish people is decent, and welcoming, and thoughtful,” she said.
People know when people are fleeing war for their lives, when people are fleeing persecution, that of course, we have to afford them refuge and asylum, but the frustration with Government lies at the feet of Government, so let nobody take that out on or take that up with refugees who are not in government.
McDonald also said she thought those attending the protests were a “mixed bag”.
“I think you have a section, from my observation of those protesters, who come from a very negative political space, and I think you have others from communities who are frustrated with Government, who are under pressure themselves, who see no prospect for themselves or their family, any easing in their difficulties. Some of them, you have generations of people living under one roof, in overcrowded circumstances, and so on.
“I would say to them, and I have said to them in my own community, just remember, responsibility for all of this does not reside with vulnerable people who are seeking protection and therefore, in my strong view, protesting outside of those places where people are being accommodated is absolutely the wrong approach.
“Bring your concerns, bring your anger, bring all of that to those who are responsible and to those who can change those circumstances, and that means the Government, it means those in political power, not vulnerable people.”
To date, more than 70,000 people have been given shelter in Ireland in the past year.
Many are currently staying in hotels, and there is an expectation that many hotels currently under contract with the Department of Children and Integration for this purpose will revert to tourist trade in March and April.
Some asylum seekers have also been living in tented accommodation, a move which has been heavily criticised.
Minister of State for Integration Joe O’Brien said the State is planning to acquire more property for housing refugees this year, adding that there has been too much of a reliance on private providers.
“The model at the moment is unsustainable. We are too reliant on private providers, and we have been trying and we will be upping our efforts to acquire properties ourselves as the State,” he told Morning Ireland.
“It’s the principle of the white paper on Direct Provision as well, that the State will acquire more properties, we need to accelerate that now as well. It needs to happen sooner.”
O’Brien said the State “can’t be reliant on private provision persistently into this year as well”.
We will need some of it and we hope as many as possible will stay with us, but being realistic about what’s coming in the summer ahead, we need to do something different now that we haven’t been doing over the last 10 months.
He said the Government will also ensure that tented accommodation will no longer be used to house refugees and asylum seekers, adding that it is the “vision” that the vast majority will be housed in State accommodation going forward.
“Obviously at the moment we’re in a very difficult place. Coming into my new department, I have seen the efforts of officials inside on an ongoing basis to try and tirelessly look for every possible accommodation option that we can get on a short-term basis.”
He said the Government is also “opening strands in terms of the medium-term side of things” such as the use of modular and refurbished accommodation.
Speaking to reporters after Cabinet yesterday evening, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said Cabinet was updated on Government plans for modular homes.
“We accept that a lot of the people who have come from Ukraine will be here from the medium to long term. They can’t stay in hotels forever. Minister O’Gorman, at Cabinet, updated us on the plans that are in place for modular housing, some of which will go to Ukrainians, not all. He also updated us on how we can purchase buildings and potentially convert them into accommodation for people.”
Transport Minister Eamon Ryan said there will be 2,800 spaces in modular homes will be delivered shortly and 3,000 refurbished properties should come online in the coming months.
O’Brien said there are currently 6,000 people in pledged accommodation, which he said had been an “extraordinary assistance” to the State. He said that people can still choose to pledge accommodation, but that he doesn’t expect the number to increase substantially.
“That’s still an option, people can still pledge a room if they wish. I think we’re beginning to plateau on what that is now, but it is still an option,” he said.
“We as a government can’t plan for a huge increase in that level of pledged accommodation, it’s very substantial as it is, but I will take the opportunity to acknowledge the huge effort that people are doing currently as well to accommodate people in their homes.”
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