More than 10% of tourist beds being used to house refugees
The latest figures show that 10% of all tourist beds in Dublin are under contract to the Government. The share of beds out of use for tourism purposes in the other main cities is 12% in Cork and 8% in Galway, Limerick and Waterford.
More than a tenth of all registered tourist beds in the country are being used by the Government to house Ukrainian refugees and other international protection applicants, according to a new report.
Fáilte Ireland has estimated that the tourism revenue at risk from guest accommodation being under contract to the Government could be as high as €1.1 billion. It calculated that the minimum impact of “displaced bed stock” for the tourism sector is €750 million.
A new report from the Fáilte Ireland shows that more than one in five of all tourist beds in three counties—Clare, Meath and Mayo—are being used to provide housing for refugees and asylum seekers.
The proportion is highest in Clare (33%) followed by Meath (26%), Mayo (20%), Wicklow (19%) and Offaly (18%). Nationally, an average of 12% of all tourist bed stock in registered premises is unavailable for tourists.
However, Fáilte Ireland said the 12% average figure may understate the “on-the-ground impact". “For every Fáilte Ireland-registered bed under contract, there is up to one more contracted bed in unregistered tourism-relevant sites,” it said.
The latest figures show that 10% of all tourist beds in Dublin are under contract to the Government. The share of beds out of use for tourism purposes in the other main cities is 12% in Cork and 8% in Galway, Limerick and Waterford. In Kerry it is 11%.
The latest figures show the overall number of government-contracted beds in the Republic has risen by 11% in the past six months to 84,497—an increase of almost 8,400. The figures are based on data provided by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.
Tourism leaders have expressed concern about the impact on the sector of housing large numbers of individuals fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine and others seeking international protection.
However, only 31 of the additional 8,354 beds placed under contract since the summer are in Fáilte Ireland-registered properties.
The report reveals that 35% of all contracted beds are in premises normally providing tourist accommodation with the vast majority in hotels and guesthouses—a total of 29,586 beds.
Meanwhile, the latest figures from the Department of Integration show that more than 200 recently arrived international protection applicants are without State accommodation. The Government stopped offering accommodation to male refugees on December 4, citing a severe lack of accommodation.
Today, Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien would not say if he believes homelessness figures would increase following changes to the accommodation offering.
Integration Minister Roderic O’Gorman previously said that he believed homeless figures would not rise, while Mr O’Brien said: “Changes haven’t come in.”
“It's our job to provide accommodation where we can for everyone who seeks it, and that's our main focus.”
