Ireland: Ukrainian refugees could be housed in army barracks

     Photograph: Nick Bradshaw/The Irish Times

The Government is looking at using army barracks in Westmeath, Kerry, Wicklow and other locations to provide emergency accommodation to house Ukrainian refugees at short notice.

The Department of Integration, which is co-ordinating the State’s response to help refugees, is considering the possibility of providing up to 500 beds for refugees at the barracks in Mullingar, Co Westmeath, Ballymullen Barracks in Tralee, Co Kerry and Kilbride training camp in Co Wicklow.

The majority of this housing—roughly 280 units—could be provided by the Mullingar barracks, but given the ongoing influx of Ukrainian immigrants, there are worries that this solution could only be enough for arrivals over a few days rather than weeks.

According to plans being considered by the government, additional areas, such as barracks in Clonmel, Co. Tipperary, Cavan, and Longford, are also being evaluated as potential housing options for refugees.

Accommodations on nearby land are also being examined.

Kevin McCarthy, secretary general of the Department of Integration, is anticipated to inform the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Dáil on Thursday that the refugee crisis is placing "severe pressure" on resources.

He will describe how the €128 million allocated for housing those in need of international protection was underspent by 12%.

Arrivals were lower than expected as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions.

At the end of 2021, however, as limits loosened, spending on accommodations for international protection started to increase again.

When Mr. McCarthy appeared to the PAC in June, he discussed the enormous impact the war in Ukraine has had on the operations of his Department. On Thursday, he will inform TDs that this impact has "not abated" since then.

According to him, the Department's involvement in providing for the needs of Ukrainian immigrants who have arrived here has "included a large diversion and allocation of staffing resources" and "continues to offer very major issues."

"The concomitant large increase in the number of applicants for international protection in 2022 has also placed great pressure on resources," he continues in his opening statement.

The usage of various forms of emergency housing, among other aspects of the response to the refugee issue, he claimed, "has had and will continue to have a substantial influence on costs in 2022 and beyond."

Given the pressure that Ukrainian immigrants entering the nation this weekend would undoubtedly put on the system, there are immediate concerns inside the government regarding the availability of housing.

Over the weekend, more than 40 Ukrainian refugees were unable to find housing and were forced to spend the night in Dublin Airport because the Citywest transit centre in west Dublin was at capacity.

More than 58,000 people, including 42,000 Ukrainians and 16,000 refugees looking for international protection, have received state housing since the war started in February.

Considering that there will be 73,000 Ukrainians in the country by the end of the year, 90% of whom will need accommodation, the government anticipates a shortage of 15,000 housing units.

Examining larger structures, such as business buildings or perhaps an equestrian centre, is one of the lodging options being investigated.

According to the Department of Integration's list of bigger properties under consideration, these bigger structures might have 4,000 beds inside of them.

In a memo to be presented to government, the agency is extending plans to construct 500 modular housing units accommodating up to 2,000 people.

The government is of the opinion that the document outlining steps to ease the refugee problem could be prepared in time for a potential Friday incorporeal Cabinet meeting.

The objective, according to sources, was to have ideas accepted before the upcoming full Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

Following up on a request made at the end of last week, the Department of Taoiseach sent another call to departments on Wednesday asking for information about larger State-owned properties that might be issued.

On Tuesday, Minister for Integration Roderic O'Gorman met with Ukrainian Ambassador Larysa Gerasko to discuss how to explain to Ukrainians considering visiting Ireland the limited number of accommodations available and how to be honest about the reality that accommodations are not guaranteed.

The pressure on refugee movements brought on by increased Russian attacks on Ukraine and Moscow's "weaponization" of the winter and refugee movements by attacking power plants and disrupting energy and heating supplies in the nation were other topics of discussion between Mr. O'Gorman and Ms. Gerasko.

A total of 6.2 million Ukrainians have already been displaced by Russia's invasion of its neighbouring nation, and an additional 7.7 million have fled the country for Europe as refugees.

In the worst-case scenario of a protracted, escalating war and the Ukrainian winter forcing more people to flee the country, the UNHCR, the UN agency for refugees, has warned that there is a possibility of a further two million people being displaced within Ukraine and a further two million people fleeing the country.