Ten more Ukrainian refugees left without State accommodation
Michelle Devane, PA
Ten more refugees have been left without State accommodation in the country due to a shortage of emergency beds.
It brings to 43 the number of Ukrainian refugees who have been told over the weekend that there was no accommodation available to them.
It emerged on Saturday that 33 Ukrainian refugees were told on Friday there was no state accommodation available.
It is understood a number of refugees slept in Dublin Airport on Friday night.
It followed Minister for Equality and Integration Roderic O’Gorman admitting on Thursday that the Government could not rule out that Ukrainian refugees will not end up on the streets due to a shortage of accommodation.
Up to 55,000 Ukrainians have arrived in the country since the outbreak of the war in February.
Mr O'Gorman's department told the PA news agency on Sunday that 10 people, all men, had been told on Saturday that there was no State accommodation available.
A spokesman for the department said: “A further 10 people, all single males, were informed yesterday that no accommodation was available and asked to provide contact details for when it does become available.”
The Taoiseach has defended the Government’s response to the accommodation shortage.
Micheál Martin said the State had been “remarkably fast” responding to the wave of refugees and asylum seekers entering the country since the onset of the war in Ukraine.
But he admitted it was “not satisfactory” that refugees were left without accommodation and that the Government was “urgently” seeking further accommodation.
Speaking on Saturday evening, Mr Martin rejected the suggestion that the increased numbers of refugees arriving in the country was predicted months ago.
The department said on Thursday night that the Citywest transit centre had reached capacity amid a severe constraint on suitable accommodation.
A group representing NGOs said that pregnant women and the elderly were sleeping on chairs and on the floor at the overcrowded Citywest facility.
