No Government commitment to keep Ukrainian families in Caherciveen
The Skellig Accommodation Centre recently applied to accommodate international protection applicants and won the State tender. Picture: Alan Landers
Government officials could not give a commitment on Tuesday night that 80 Ukrainian men, women, and children would be allowed to stay in a hotel in Co Kerry which has been their home since last year.
A pause remains on moving around 80 people out of the former Skellig Star hotel in Caherciveen after an outcry by the local community. The Government planned for 40 residents to move out of the hotel but remain in the area, while 35 were to be moved to Tralee.
It is understood the Skellig Accommodation Centre recently applied to accommodate international protection (IP) applicants and won the State tender.
The Government has been struggling to secure accommodation for IP applicants, or asylum seekers, in recent months. While it is “challenging” to secure accommodation for Ukrainians, officials are finding it harder to find shelter for asylum seekers, particularly single men.
The Citywest transit hub will remain closed for the “foreseeable” and there is no date “in sight” for when it may be open again to accommodate newly arrived asylum seekers, due to capacity constraints.
As of Tuesday night, 580 asylum seekers had not been offered state accommodation, the highest figure yet.
It comes as the Government is concerned about the wider financial implications of a landmark compensation payout due to an Afghan teenager next week. The teenager came here seeking international protection but was not offered state accommodation on arrival.
It is understood department officials are working on papers for Integration Minister Roderic O’Gorman ahead of a Cabinet committee meeting on Ukraine on Thursday which will outline the State's response to the judgement.
Meanwhile, TDs and senators will be told on Wednesday that there is a “feeling of nervousness” in the tourism sector due to the Government’s contracts with hotels to accommodate Ukrainians and asylum seekers.
Elaina Fitzgerald Kane, chair of the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation, will tell the tourism committee that outside Dublin, 35% of all beds have been given to the State to house those fleeing war.
She will tell politicians that over 50% of tourism beds in Donegal are contracted to the Government, 39% in Clare, and 37% in Kerry.
The first of 700 modular homes for Ukrainian refugees will be handed over in Mahon, Cork, in two weeks, with Ukrainian families expected to move in in mid-June.
Ciaran O'Connor of the OPW told the housing committee the units were designed to be "plug and play" and were delivered fully fitted out.
He said that the OPW has now "cracked" how to build the two- and three-storey modular homes and will soon go to tender on a site with two-storey homes.
It is estimated that the rapid-build homes will cost between €125,000 and €150,000 to develop and they are intended to house Ukrainians for up to three years, at which point they will be offered to the local authority for social housing.
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