TWENTY-ONE UKRAINIAN REFUGEES, including six children, are to be relocated from their accommodation in Kilbaha on the Loop Head peninsula in West Clare to three different locations across the county, up to 100km away. 

The majority of the 21 Ukrainian people have been staying in Loop Head Hotel in the West Clare village of Kilbaha, and have been there for 18 months. 

The Ukrainians who have been living in the village range from the ages of 7 to 76. There are six children living in Loop Head Hotel and attending the local schools who are to be relocated next week, with a date of 11 July set.

Local TD Cathal Crowe told The Journal the three locations in question are 20km, 80km, and 100km away respectively from Kilbaha. It’s understood some of the children will have to move school as a result of their relocation. 

The local community has held a number of public meetings to try and find an alternative to the move, but accommodation in the area is scarce during the summer months. 

One community representative who spoke to The Journal confirmed that the residents of the area are seeking a reversal of the decision but, failing that, hope the relocation can be delayed until September when accommodation in the area will begin to free up and the Ukrainian residents may be able to find somewhere else local to stay.

She said that communication between the department and local residents has been scant, and the community has lost trust in the department as they feel they haven’t been heard. 

“Eighteen months on, we are one community,” she said. “We attend events together, take courses together, plant flowers together and do village tidy ups.

“Some of the children were very traumatised after their upheaval from the war zone that their home in Ukraine had become – to see those children now, in the village, playing with their friends in the playground, and laughing and enjoying themselves in school has been nothing short of heartwarming.”

Another resident said that the population of the area is in terminal decline. The arrival of the Ukrainian refugees gave the area a boost, with the introduction of a bus service and an increase in the school population, which was less than 20 attending previously. 

Government statement

In a statement to The Journal, a spokeswoman for the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth said that while it appreciated that moving location can be disruptive and not easy for people, “at all times we were very clear that State-funded accommodation is temporary and subject to change”.

The department is reducing the number of contracts for accommodation for people from Ukraine who are beneficiaries of temporary protection for a number of reasons including compliance concerns, the spokeswoman said.

The department is also reducing the number of contracts as vacancies arise in order to ensure value for money and greater oversight, she added.

As such, Ukainian people cannot expect to stay in the same area when accommodation changes are made.

“Given the number of moves that will take place over the next few months, it is unlikely that this accommodation will be in the same area,” the department spokesperson said.

“People affected who wish to stay in the area are welcome to make their own arrangements, including through pledged accommodation. Due to the scale involved, the only factors that can be considered when allocating follow-on accommodation are HSE assessed medical needs.”

Clare TD Michael McNamara told The Journal that there is “considerable anxiety and distress on Loop Head caused by the decision to cease accommodating Ukrainian beneficiaries of temporary protection in Direct Provision accommodation in Kilbaha”.

“Residents have been informed they must move to other accommodation at other ends of the county, with compliance issues being cited by officials,” he said.

Lisdoonvarna

Six of the Ukrainian refugees are to be relocated to The Hydro Hotel in Rathbaun, Lisdoonvarna. TD Cathal Crowe told The Journal that Lisdoonvarna is overstretched as a town, having taken in a large number of refugees in recent times. 

“Communities like Kilbaha are crying out for people to live back there,” he said.

“Lisdoonvarna is one of a few examples I can think about around the country where they’ve done everything they possibly can and yet they haven’t the capacity to do any more,” Crowe said, adding that the town is “absolutely overstretched”. 

There are also concerns that local services in Lisdoonvarna will not be able to provide adequate medical care that a number of vulnerable Ukrainian residents of Kilbaha may need, due to pressure on limited services.

The news of the relocation of the Ukrainian refugees follows the recent relocation of over 70 Shannon-based refugees to Lisdoonvarna in North Clare. 

Local councillor Rita McInerney told The Journal that the department had quoted compliance issues in relation to the move. She said that the people in question had been welcomed by the community, and there had been two public meetings in relation to the relocation. 

“At the core of this is there’s 21 people who have lived in the community for the last 18 months, and have very much become part of the community. And at the time when you hear so much negativity around integration and refugee, it’s a real example of where a rural community embraced the people, embraced the situation, and really made them feel welcome,” she said.

“And as a result, additional services were put into the area, an area that is in terminal population decline.”