TENTED ACCOMMODATION FOR Ukrainian refugees at Gormanston military camp in Co Meath is set to be stood down from early October, it is understood.

The camp, which was established in July, is currently accommodating around 190 Ukrainian refugees with a maximum capacity of around 350 people.

At present, the facility is being used for short term stays before people are moved on to other accommodation.

However, it is understood that the facility will be stood down in the first week of October, with it not being suitable to house refugees during the winter months.

Discussions are currently underway between the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) and the Defence Forces around establishing a new temporary centre for Ukrainian refugees.

It comes as over 48,700 Ukrainian refugees have arrived into Ireland since Russia invaded in February 2022, with an average of 126 people arriving every day.

At that rate, DCEIDY is expecting approximately 59,000 Ukrainians to have arrived in Ireland by the end of the year.

However, there are no indications of how many people have returned to Ukraine due to a lack of data available.

A majority of arrivals are being placed in serviced accommodation, like hotels, while others are being placed in pledged accommodation or temporary emergency accommodation.

In total, there are 32,400 people in serviced accommodation, 900 in emergency accommodation like Gormanston and 4,500 in private pledged accommodation.

It comes after 4,300 Ukrainians were removed from student accommodation at the end of August ahead of the return to colleges and universities, with a quarter heading to pledged accommodation.

At present, over 4,000 pledges of accommodation are being examined by DCEDIY, with over 1,000 not yet having been assessed.

The Government currently has over 500 contracts for serviced accommodation, which are providing approximately 29,700 beds. However, 165 of these contracts are expected to expire later this year, with DCEDIY set to decide whether or not to renew them.