A TOTAL OF 72,000 Ukrainian refugees are expected to have arrived in Ireland by the end of the year, with the Government grappling to find suitable accommodation for those still arriving this winter. 

It is understood that two hotels contracted by the Government to house refugees arriving from Ukraine have given notices to quit, which will leave over 1,000 people without accommodation this coming January.

The Department of Integration is understood to have begun new engagements with 700 providers, with an estimated €52 million euro having been paid to providers this month, €10 million more than what was paid out last month. 

It comes after Integration Minister Roderic O’Gorman launched an appeal to members of the public who own unoccupied properties to make them available to house those fleeing the war.

Under the latest scheme, anyone who makes a property available will be granted a recognition payment of €800 a month.

This payment is currently €400 a month and will be doubled from 1 December.

Around €8 million has been paid out to 4,000 applicants so far under the recognition payment in respect of around 9,000 beneficiaries of temporary protection who are seeking refuge. 

As of this week, temporary protection has been granted to almost 65,000 Ukrainian refugees. The current 7-day average of arrivals is 151, down slightly on last month when it was around 200.

There are 1,200 Ukrainian refugees in emergency accommodation, while around 5,500 have been placed in 2,000 citizen-pledged properties.

Close to 11,000 pledges have been made so far that have been forwarded by the department to local authorities and NGOs for allocation. Of those, around 1,500 pledges are currently in progress.

Around 75% of Ukrainian refugees arriving in Ireland require accommodation from the State, with 7,000 refugees expected between now and the end of the year.

This is in addition to almost 13,000 asylum seekers who have arrived in Ireland this year, and 17,500 currently being accommodated in International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS).

This is compared to 7,250 people who were in IPAS accommodation this time last year.

Due to the lack of accommodation currently available, it is understood that the department has worked with the Ukrainian ambassador to advise refugees not to bring their pets to Ireland as there is no guarantee that they can be accommodated. 

It is understood that those who have already arrived with their pets are being advised to source alternative accommodation for them, such as with the ISPCA. 

Modular homes

In an effort to accommodate more Ukrainian refugees fleeing the war, a pilot project to construct 500 rapid build modular homes at various sites across the country is currently underway. 

Sites in Cork, Cavan, Mayo, Sligo and Tipperary have been chosen for the modular units, with local authorities and the Office of Public Works asked to suggest other sites for use.

The first phase of the project will see units being constructed in Cork, Cavan, Tipperary, Mayo and Sligo. 64 units in Cork and 28 units in Cavan are set to be completed around February next year. 

Construction has begun on 64 units for a site in Mahon, Co Cork, which is expected to be completed by the end of February. 28 units for a site on Farnham Road in Co Cavan is expected to be completed around easter. 

Construction on the units in Tipperary, Mayo and Sligo will begin on 1 December and will take around 12 to 16 weeks to complete.

It takes 10 weeks to construct a unit, with further time needed to prepare a site for the units.

The homes, which can house four people each, will be placed in pairs, with streets, water, waste, roads and pedestrian routes built around the grade-A2 energy units.

Each unit has a 60-year structural lifespan and the standard of the units are in accordance with current social housing standards. Two units can be combined by removing a soft-point link in the centre if required. 

It is understood that around 2,000 refugees will be accommodated in these modular homes.

Protests

Repurposed buildings such as offices are also being used to accommodate refugees arriving in Ireland, with the department understood to be looking to use more of these buildings going forward. 

Recent protests in East Wall were sparked after asylum seekers were housed in an old ESB building in the area, with residents claiming they were not consulted about the move.

The protests were also attended by a number of people who chanted “get them out” in relation to the asylum seekers and called them “our enemy”. 

Speaking today, Roderic O’Gorman said there is “absolutely” a need to provide information to local communities when the department is providing accommodation.

“It’s important to say that we have a moral and legal obligation to provide shelter for those fleeing a wartime situation and that is requiring us to act quickly, and the alternative option is to leave people without homes,” he said.

“We do have to act quickly. This is a crisis. This is a wartime situation. We are looking to enhance our capacity to get information out to communities but it is important that in Ireland no-one has a veto in terms of who lives in their neighbourhood and in the community.”

He added that the Government’s new appeal is a significant step in continuing to look to source accommodation for Ukrainian displaced people in our country”.

Speaking to reporters in Paris today, Taoiseach Micheál Martin was asked whether he is concerned that an increase in the number of refugees in Ireland could lead to a rise in far-right protests.

“I think Ireland hasn’t had that far-right sort of viewpoint in terms of being a critical mass. It hasn’t achieved critical mass yet in Ireland,” he said.

He said that there has “genuinely been a very warm welcome to many Ukrainians across Ireland”.

Communities have opened up their schools, health services, Ukrainians coming into Ireland have access to our health services, have access to schools and what’s often very heartwarming is when, because of accommodation pressures, sometimes children are moved, the first people to protest on behalf of the Ukrainian children are their teachers, Irish teachers.

Martin also said that Ireland has been “very positive on Ukraine by a significant degree”.

“There is a challenge on the international protection then as well, in terms of numbers are far higher than we would have anticipated, and certainly are nearly three times what we would have experienced pre-Covid in 2019, and that’s causing concern in terms of just sheer capacity to manage those numbers. I think we should look at the positives of this.”

He added that he is concerned that the rise in attack on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure could push more Ukrainians out of the country.

“It seems to a more intense tactic now being deployed by Putin,” he said.

“That could create further migration from Ukraine because that is what he wants to do. I think Europe has to stay solid. We have to hold our nerve and stay united across the European Union against real challenges.”

Additional reporting from the Press Association