Ukrainian refugees treated ‘like dirt’, says Cork school chaplain

A Cork school chaplain has said it is “callous” that Ukrainian refugees living in student accommodation have been told they must leave by mid-March.

A letter to residents of Cork Student Village in Victoria Cross explained that their accommodation “is ending” and they must relocate on or before March 13.

The letter said: “Almost all the accommodation we provide you with is temporary, which means that we may have to move you again to another accommodation in the future. In addition, we may have to move people into shared accommodation in instances where there are no other options available.

“We regret to inform you that the department can no longer provide any accommodation for pets. If you own a pet, you will have to make appropriate arrangements for it.”

Residents were told that officials from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration, and Youth will attend their accommodation nine days prior, and they are required to present with their documents if they wish to avail of new State-supported accommodation.

If they fail to attend, refuse, or say no to an offer of relocation, they will not receive further offers. They will get approximately seven days’ notice of where their new accommodation is.

Heartless

Mayfield Community School chaplain John Hurley said they have students who received this letter and it was “an absolutely heartless letter, really blunt”.

“They used the word regret once and it’s for pets — for human beings, they have no problem treating them like dirt.

“Some students have come to Ireland traumatised. One buried an uncle due to the war and another’s dad had to get shrapnel taken out of his shoulder.

“These are traumatised individuals, who we said we’d welcome and are now stripping from their accommodation with very little notice, and they are justifying it purely on an economic basis,” said Mr Hurley. He said one pupil who was due to sit their Junior Certificate in June can’t do it now as they will be moved from the area.

“It’s an incredibly callous way to treat people, and part of me wonders if this has been done in between governments so that public representatives can’t raise it in the Dáil.”

A department spokesperson told The Echo: “As part of the response to the unprecedented humanitarian crisis of the war breaking out in Ukraine, the department took on a variety of different commercial properties, including some properties that were previously providing student accommodation. It was agreed that these beds would be returned to student accommodation when it was possible to do so. This property previously provided student accommodation.

Disruptive

“We appreciate that this is not easy for people and that moving location may be very disruptive.” 

They added that over the last year, the need for accommodation for people affected by the war in Ukraine had reduced.

“Because the department must ensure value for money and an effective system overall, this means some people will be moved to other locations.

“Every effort will be made to keep them as close to their current location as possible. However, given the significant number of moves planned, this may not always be possible.”