Parish houses and youth centres in Kerry examined for use as refugee accommodation

Several of the 53 parishes of the Diocese of Kerry no longer have resident priests and there are many empty or underused buildings as a result

The John Mitchels GAA Sports Complex in Tralee has been placed on standby as a centre for short term accommodation for refugees from Ukraine. Picture: Domnick Walsh / Eye Focus LTD

The Diocese of Kerry has moved to make a number of parish buildings available for Ukrainian refugees.

Some seven parish houses are being made available to house refugees, while a large youth centre in Killarney has also been forward to help in the response effort.

Some 44 refugees have arrived at the Kerry Diocesan Youth Centre in Killarney last week, a spokeswoman for the diocese confirmed.

The large diocese which takes in parts of north and west Cork drew up a list of properties suitable for housing last month after being approached by Kerry County Council and the Department of Children.

Several of its 53 parishes no longer have resident priests and there are many empty or underused buildings as a result.

The diocese said it was waiting to hear back from the authorities on the presbyteries it has put forward as suitable.

The diocese is in regular contact with Kerry County Council and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth in helping with the effort to find suitable accommodation for Ukrainian people arriving into the County, the spokeswoman said.

Up to 1,000 refugees in county

Meanwhile, up to a dozen hotels in Kerry from Sneem to Cahersiveen to Tarbert village as well as the largest towns, Tralee, and Killarney are hosting refugees now.

More than 1,000 refugees are being accommodated in Kerry now, it is estimated.

A number of the hotels normally reserved for tourist accommodation have been given over in their entirety as part of their contracts with IPAS, the international protection accommodation procurement agency of the Department of Children.

The John Mitchels GAA Sports Complex in Tralee has been placed on standby as a centre for short term accommodation and a community building in Tralee is also likely to be used.

Kerry, which has one of the biggest banks of accommodation outside Dublin, with 50,000 tourist beds, is being looked at as potential base for hosting a large number of refugees.

However, most hotels and guesthouses have already accepted tourist bookings amid what is predicted to be a bumper year for tourism in Killarney and south Kerry.

The Irish Hotels Federation has made continued appeals to members in Kerry on the Government’s behalf for any type of accommodation including guesthouse, hotel and B&B, on a commercial basis.