Baz Ashmawy hits back at critics of DIY SOS episode that helped Ukrainian refugees

Baz and his Big Build Ireland team spent two weeks restoring six historic houses on the grounds of Kingston College in Mitchelstown in north Cork. Picture: Donagh Glavin

The presenter of RTE's hit television show DIY SOS has hit back at the ‘help the Irish first’ critics of his Ukraine housing project, insisting that it’s possible to care for more than one cause at the same time.

Baz Ashmawy also defended the volunteer tradespeople who gave up their time last summer to restore six houses in North Cork to house Ukrainian families. It is the show’s biggest undertaking to date, and the results will be screened on RTÉ on Friday.

There was criticism at the time, which has become more vocal in recent weeks following a number of protests outside refugee hubs in north Cork, that the houses were not restored for homeless Irish people.

But Baz defended the show and its motives and hit back at the critics.

“The attitude of ‘you’re helping Ukrainians instead of Irish people’ - we’ve done six DIY SOS’s this year, we’ve done them all for Irish people,” he said.

“This is our third season doing it – they've all been for Irish people.

“You have the ability to choose to care about a lot of different things.

A lot of these families that we tried to house are women and children and babies — you don’t want to help babies?

He also said he doesn’t understand how those fleeing the war in Ukraine, and some of the volunteer tradespeople who worked on the latest project, have been targeted by some protestors.

“I have worked alongside the volunteers. They have the biggest hearts, they are the most amazing people. And if we were to do a project, which I hope we do get to do, helping homelessness, they will be the first ones there,” he said.

“I take umbrage with it (the ‘Irish first’ attitude). I have six kids. I have the ability to care about all of them. I don’t care about one of them, I care about them all.

“Likewise, these people (the volunteers) care about disability, and homelessness and all the issues that matter," he said in an interview with Dearbhail McDonald on RTÉ radio. 

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Baz and his Big Build Ireland team spent two weeks restoring six historic houses on the grounds of Kingston College in Mitchelstown in north Cork - a community of 31 small, terraced houses which were built in 1761 by James, fourth lord baron Kingston, to cater for former tenants on his estate.

The houses have been in trust since the mid-18th century to three Church of Ireland Bishops, who have been maintaining them through a charitable fund. Some 23 of the homes have been occupied for some time.

But when the war in Ukraine broke out, Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, Dr Paul Colton, and diocesan secretary Billy Skuse, issued an appeal for funds to renovate eight of the homes for Ukrainian families.

The DIY SOS Ukraine special will be broadcast on RTÉ One at 6.30pm this Friday.