The Ukrainian embassy in Ireland has issued a warning to Ukrainians planning to travel to the Republic, that they may not be guaranteed free accommodation upon arrival.
As the Government continues to grapple with a significant shortage of accommodation for Ukrainians fleeing the war with Russia, the Ukrainian embassy has cautioned Ukrainians about travelling to Ireland for shelter.
In a post on Facebook on Wednesday evening, the embassy said Ireland could no longer guarantee housing for people arriving into the country.
“When planning a move to Ireland, please take into account all risks of being left without temporary housing for the near future,” the embassy said.
“Ireland continues to provide temporary protection to Ukrainian citizens. At the same time, the Irish side DO NOT GUARANTEE the provision of free housing upon arrival in the country to date,” the embassy stated.
The post from the embassy also warned that finding housing in the private rental market in Ireland was “highly problematic”, due to a shortage of rental properties available.
The Department of Integration and Equality has been trying to source more accommodation to house continuing numbers arriving into the country from the war in Ukraine, as well as asylum-seekers from other countries.
More than 40 Ukrainian refugees were left without accommodation over last weekend and had to sleep in Dublin Airport as the Citywest transit hub in west Dublin had reached capacity. A number were subsequently accommodated in a sports hall.
Larysa Gerasko, the Ukrainian ambassador to Ireland, in recent days described the fact some Ukrainian refugees could not be offered accommodation by the State as “unacceptable”.
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.
