Department to move 400 direct provision residents out of Hotel Killarney at end of March

A number of children have secured places in local schools, some having to wait until January.

The hotel which has been at the centre of controversy had signalled since January it is to return to tourism. Photo: hotelkillarney.ie

Just under 400 direct provision residents, including 20 families at Hotel Killarney, have been formally told by IPAS their accommodation is to return to tourist accommodation at the end of March.

The residents have not been told where they are to be accommodated and whether they are being moved from Killarney. Formal notice of the residents having to leave the hotel was sent by the Department of Integration on Thursday and received on Friday morning.

The notice sent to residents states the contract with the hotel is coming to an end. No exact final date for the ending of the contract is given in the letter.

The hotel, which has been at the centre of controversy, had signalled since January its plans to reopen for tourists. Local sources indicate this will happen towards the end of April.

While more than half of the residents in Hotel Killarney are male, there are also women and family units. A number of children have secured places in local schools.

The hotel was at the centre of controversy last autumn after Ukrainian refugees were moved out to make way for international protection applicants. Most of the Ukrainian families have been accommodated locally in hotels hosting Ukrainian refugees.

However, informed sources say the three other direct provision centres in Killarney are full. One centre near Hotel Killarney, Atlas House, which accommodates around 100 international protection applicants is accommodating a number of people who have been granted refugee status.

Those successful applicants cannot move out of the Atlas House direct provision centre because there is no available accommodation in Killarney, the source said.

Responding to queries, a spokesperson for the Department of Integration said it is not possible to say at this stage where the residents will be placed. However, “affected residents will be notified in advance of the move and those with children of schoolgoing age will receive assistance from the IPAS Resident Welfare team in relation to school places in their new accommodation centre and IPAS will work closely with all residents to minimise disruption as much as possible”.

“All affected residents will receive a letter in the coming days advising them that their current temporary accommodation is coming to an end but that they will be re-accommodated in another location over the coming weeks – at this time it is not possible to confirm where the residents will be dispersed to due to the ongoing shortage of accommodation in the IPAS accommodation portfolio due to the unprecedented numbers arrived since the beginning of 2022,” the spokesperson said.

The IPAS operations team apologised for the disruption and said they would do everything they could to minimise this.

Earlier this year, Hotel Killarney experienced a serious outbreak of violence and a number of people were arrested and brought before the courts.