Over 30 Ukrainian refugees turned away from Citywest as facility hits full capacity

A total of 33 Ukrainian refugees were told on Friday that there was no accommodation for them in Ireland after arriving in the country this week.

A spokesperson for the Department of Children and Integration told The Irish Times that all individuals who were turned away were male.

The men in question were asked to provide contact details with the view to housing them when accommodation becomes available.

The government is looking for more hotels, public buildings and people's homes to accommodate new arrival, after running out of housing.

Junior Minister Niall Collins said Ireland will continue to provide a humanitarian response where possible.

"The Department of Equality and Children are seeking ways to find more capacity, to generate more capacity, to deal with the influx of people fleeing the war in Ukraine.

"Whether that's in hotels, or whether that's public buildings, or whether it's people offering their own private accommodation, it's a multi-faceted approach," Mr Collins added.

The news comes after Roderic O'Gorman, Minister for Children and Integration, said on Friday that refugees sleeping on the street "can't be ruled out" amid an on-going accommodation crisis.

Mr O’Gorman said the Ukrainian embassy had been contacted so that people could be advised to stay in other EU states as State accommodation could not be guaranteed.

Women and children will be prioritised and his department will work with NGOs about supporting other arrivals, he said.

The overnight facility at Dublin Airport will also be used, rather than transfer late night arrivals to Citywest.

Tented accommodation at Gormanston is no longer available, but 300 people remain in “high quality tents” around the country.