Citywest refugee processing centre to close over Christmas

The Department says the hub will remain in operation for those in situ. Picture: Moya Nolan

The Citywest transit hub in Dublin — one of the main centres used for processing people seeking asylum in Ireland — will close for four days over the Christmas period, the Department of Integration has announced.

The centre will be closed from Saturday, December 24 until Tuesday, December 27. The Department says the hub will remain in operation for those in situ.

The Government has also appealed to Ukrainian refugees not to travel here until January due to an ongoing shortage of suitable accommodation. 

A department spokesperson said people who do arrive from Ukraine and who are in need of accommodation during this timeframe "will be accommodated temporarily at designated Local Authority sites."

"Those arriving during this time will be met at the point of entry into the State and directed to the relevant site."

Ukrainian Ambassador to Ireland Larysa Gerasko. Picture: Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie

The spokesperson said the Irish Government has asked the Ukrainian embassy in Ireland to advise Ukrainians considering coming to Ireland that, if they are currently in a safe location, they should remain there and not travel here until the new year.

The measure was agreed at a meeting between Equality Minister Roderic O'Gorman and Ukrainian Ambassador Larysa Gerasko earlier this week.

"State-provided accommodation is very limited in Ireland at the moment both for Ukrainian beneficiaries of temporary protection and for international protection applicants," the department spokesperson said.

"This shortage of State-provided accommodation is likely to continue into early January."

According to the Department of Integration, Ireland is currently accommodating more than 50,000 people from Ukraine, as well as 18,000 international Protection applicants.