LAST UPDATE | 11 Jan 2023
MINISTER FOR INTEGRATION Roderic O’Gorman updated Cabinet colleagues about the challenges facing the State in terms of accommodating international protection applicants and people fleeing Ukraine.
O’Gorman outlined his view that Ireland has done remarkably well to date, as more than 70,000 people have been given shelter in Ireland in the past year.
The minister told his colleagues that the response is a credit to the communities around Ireland who have supported this effort.
However, he warned that sourcing accommodation is becoming increasingly difficult.
Speaking to reporters after Cabinet this evening, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said Cabinet was also 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,” Varadkar stated.
Transport Minister Eamon Ryan added that 2,800 spaces in modular homes will be delivered shortly and 3,000 refurbished properties should come online in the coming months.
“We do expect the number of Ukrainians coming to Ireland as beneficiaries of temporary protection will increase.”
Ryan said “thousands more” could come to Ireland this Spring as the war in Ukraine could worsen.
Varadkar stated: “As we said before, very early on, we are not in a position to guarantee accommodation. That is just the reality of the situation.
“This is a wartime situation, it is not like anything we have ever had to deal with. I can’t guarantee we will be able to find accommodation for everyone. But we will do the best we can for people.”
He said “even if we had 20,000 apartments ready” they would already be full.
“That is the reality of where we are at,” he added.
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.
O’Gorman recommended to the Cabinet that the State needs to reduce its reliance on private providers and develop State-owned accommodation, increase community engagement, and provide improved support for integration.
A number of protests have taken place in recent days outside accommodation centres housing refugees and asylum seekers.
Varadkar yesterday said that some of the chants and behaviour at these protests have been disturbing.
“I don’t think that there’s any excuse for racism of any form. We’ve accepted maybe 70,000 people from Ukraine fleeing war in Ireland. Our response to that has not been perfect, but I am proud of the fact that we as a country have welcomed so many people into Ireland,” he told reporters.
“And of course, there are people that are coming from other parts of the world who are applying for international protection and they have the right to do so.
“We just need to make sure that those applications are processed as quickly as possible. And I just don’t think there’s any excuse for hatred being directed at anyone because of their nationality or their racial background or any other reason,” Varadkar added.
Separately, Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly updated Cabinet on the situation in emergency departments.
Overcrowding has eased somewhat since last week but many hospitals are still under severe pressure and hundreds of patients remain on trolleys.
Donnelly briefed his colleagues on the monkeypox (MPOX) vaccination programme.
As of the end of December, there were a total of 227 MPOX cases notified here with no cases in weeks 50 and 51 of last year.
A vaccination programme continues with appointments available up to the end of February.
The HSE believes that between 6,000 and 12,000 people would be of greatest benefit from a prevention programme. As of 1 January, just under 5,000 vaccine doses have been administered.
Donnelly told ministers that mass vaccination against MPOX is currently not required or recommended.
With reporting by Christina Finn
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