Complaints relating to food and damp conditions made by some Ukrainian refugees
More than 70 inspections of properties housing Ukrainian refugees have also been completed.
A complaint was made by Ukrainian refugees that they had to walk 1km to another location to get their meals every day, while another revealed that residents in one centre had to shower outdoors, it has emerged.
The complaints were among reports received by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth (DCEDIY) from Ukrainians regarding conditions in accommodation across the country in October.
The nature of the complaints were released to the under the Freedom of Information Act. The venues, the exact type of accommodation, or the county of location were not identified in the materials released by the department.
More than 60,000 people have arrived in Ireland since the outbreak of the war with Russia in February.
Large numbers have been living in up to 500 hotels across the country which are being used as accommodation centres.
On October 18, the department noted a complaint relating to meals, which stated: “Food not served on site — residents must walk 1 KM through the town to another hotel to get their meals”.
Another complaint which was recorded by the department related to poor conditions relating to ventilation and overcrowding, without a recreation area for adults or children.
The note relating to that accommodation added: “Bad ventilation throughout, and some rooms have no windows. Showers are outdoors & under canvas. No suitable storage for clothes or belongings and no privacy.”
Emma Lane-Spollen, national co-ordinator of the Ukraine Civil Society Emergency Response group, said that the vast majority of accommodation providers are without fault in the provision of services to Ukrainian refugees.
She said some residents are reluctant to make a complaint about poor conditions because of the worry that they will be evicted from the accommodation.
She added: “Then there are instances of very poor conditions such as damp and mould.”
She said there needs to be sufficient resources in place to oversee the 500 contracts with providers of accommodation in hotels across the country.
A spokeswoman for the DCEDIY said: “The majority of service providers essentially provide a room and full-board service through hotels, B&Bs, guesthouses, and hostels, such premises are required to be compliant by law with health and safety regulations and planning requirements and may be subject to inspections by a range of authorities in this regard, including the relevant local authority, the Environmental Health Office of the HSE, and the Health and Safety Authority.”
She said that all properties contracted by it had to be compliant with fire safety requirements. More than 70 inspections of properties have also been completed, and follow-up inspections have taken place when issues are identified, she added.
