GOVERNMENT HAS SAID there is a “real possibility” of a shortfall in asylum seeker accommodation in the coming days. 

Tánaiste Micheál Martin said this evening that Equality Minister Roderic O’Gorman informed Cabinet today that he is looking at measures “to make sure that we don’t get to that situation”. 

“But there are challenges,” Martin acknowledged, stating:

We’re going to have to find accommodation.

Speaking at Farmleigh House today, the Tánaiste said:

“We’ve had situations like this last year… we managed to deal with it, but it is a challenging situation.”

As at 28 November, Ireland is accommodating more than 100,000 people between those fleeing Ukraine and International Protection applicants (IPAs), Cabinet was told today.

This includes over 74,000 Ukrainian people who have sought accommodation from the State and over 25,500 IPAs currently in International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) accommodation.

As a result of accommodation constraints, the department has said it is facing the real possibility of a shortfall in accommodation in the coming days.

Cabinet was told that officials are continuing to work at maximising the use of available accommodation. 

The warning from O’Gorman comes just one month after government was told that tents and cabin accommodation was at risk of running out into the winter months. 

When asked if he would be concerned about asylum seekers’ safety, if secure accommodation runs out, he said, generally speaking, he is concerned for their safety in any situation, particularly when people are attending a protest outside designated centres, stating it is “unacceptable”.

Such protests create terror, anxiety and fear, he said, adding he is conscious that it could be exasperated.