Warning that tents should not become a new norm as refugees arrive at Gormanston camp

A play area for children at the camp for families fleeing Russia's war on Ukraine in Gormanston Co Meath. While welcoming the initiative, migrant rights advocates warn against the temporary measure becoming semi-permanent. Picture: Department of the Taoiseach/PA

Refugees are expected to arrive at Gormanston army camp today, sparking concerns that vulnerable people may get stuck living in tents there as the housing crisis makes finding accommodation increasingly difficult.

Some 150 people are initially to be accommodated at the army camp in Meath which has a capacity for 350, Minister for Children Roderic O’Gorman said.

Each military tent will sleep 16 people with separate showers and toilets, recreation and canteen facilities, Mr O’Gorman told RTÉ. This was a short-term measure where people would be housed for a week “maximum”, he said.

Tented accommodation could also be added to existing facilities around the country for asylum seekers to meet any possible surge in demand, Mr O’Gorman said.

He also said that a second welcome centre for refugees would open in “the next two to three weeks”.

Some 3,000 units in institutional buildings were identified for refurbishment by local authorities and given to the Department of Housing to offer accommodation to refugees. The first tranche of 500 places will be handed over this week which will further ease the mounting accommodation pressure for refugees, Mr O’Gorman said.

Over the weekend, 780 refugees and asylum seekers were accommodated at Citywest Hotel in Dublin, he told RTÉ. No one had to sleep at the old terminal building at Dublin Airport over the weekend, as had happened just days earlier, he said.

There were 43,256 arrivals from Ukraine to Ireland since the war began up to the week ending July 10, new figures from the Central Statistics Office show.

Additionally, some 7,080 international protection applicants have arrived in Ireland this year while in 2021, just 2,648 applicants arrived.

'Tents should not become a new norm'

Refugee and migrant support organisation Doras is concerned that refugees are sleeping on floors and in tents and that this could signal a disturbing new norm if not immediately addressed.

John Lannon, CEO of Irish migrant rights NGO Doras, said: '[P]eople need and deserve better than sleeping on floors or in tents.' File picture

Doras CEO John Lannon said a basic standard of accommodation is essential when fulfilling our obligations to some of the world’s most vulnerable people.

“We’re talking about people who are fleeing for their lives, people who have lived through the horrors of war and are seeking a safe place of rest and sanctuary,” Mr Lannon said.

“While many of those we are working with are grateful for any kind of immediate food and shelter, the reality is that people need and deserve better than sleeping on floors or in tents. 

"This is especially the case for people who are traumatised, or who have specific medical needs, and in all situations the safeguarding of children is paramount. This is the case for Ukrainians as it is for people from Afghanistan and others who need protection.

“Of course, we have a national accommodation crisis, and have had for years now, but we’re still a wealthy country and we must provide a basic standard of care and accommodation that doesn’t see people sleeping in hugely inadequate conditions. 

The risk here is that tents become a new norm and we can’t allow that, especially as we enter the final weeks of summer and face the prospect of a long and cold winter ahead. 

“We’ve known for many months now, back to when the Government signalled that up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees might arrive, that measures would need to be put in place. 

"Everybody concerned is working flat out but it’s simply not good enough to say we didn’t see this coming. 

"The situation is also compounding the distress felt by people in direct provision, which as we know is already a sub-standard system of accommodation. Direct provision was itself a so-called temporary measure, established back in 2000 due to a shortage of accommodation." 

"The recent white paper has acknowledged the failures and the need to end this system but now things look set to get worse rather than better with the current failures adding to the acute pressure felt by people in this terrible system. 

There are now 4,000 people who should be able to leave direct provision but cannot find anywhere to live and that number is growing by the day. 

"All of this points to the need for a new level of urgency when it comes to tackling the national housing emergency."

“We’re appealing for greater leadership and joined-up thinking, especially when it comes to coordination between national and local level. Alongside our colleagues across the sector we have met the Taoiseach and raised this several times."

"We need better coordination and resourcing to ensure those of us working with refugees and asylum seekers can better respond to the huge levels of distress and suffering we are witnessing every day. 

We *cannot* let this become the new acceptable norm - Plans to house asylum seekers in tents at three further sites amid ‘emergency’ accommodation shortage. https://t.co/jTixhE6XJe

— John Lannon (@jclannon) July 17, 2022

"We need an all-out response, as we had with Covid, which should include the appointment of a national refugee response lead. 

"We also need to see a plan from Government that articulates an approach to the reception and accommodation of refugees that does not rely on tents or other substandard accommodation. 

"As a key element of the necessary response, as called for by the Ukraine Civil Society Forum, is to mandate the Housing Agency to drive development of medium-term accommodation for refugees."