Cold tents, unsanitary conditions and safety fears among Ukrainian refugees’ complaints

Cold accommodation in tents, cramped living conditions, unsanitary conditions, safety concerns and issues with food are among issues raised in 106 complaints made by Ukrainian refugees to the Department of Integration over the summer.

Details of the complaints were released to The Irish Times under the Freedom of Information Act.

The department released summaries of a sample of the complaints rather than the actual correspondence, saying this would ensure transparency while preserving the complainant’s right to make complaints in confidence.

Key word searches of the department’s records turned up 106 complaints over July and up to the middle of August.

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Searches for key words “problem”, “food” and “cold” turned up results that accounted for a total of 82 of the complaints found.

The department said it “endeavours to deal with issues that are brought to its attention as quickly as possible, given the fact that over 42,000 people are accommodated in over 500 properties, this is not always possible”.

There were 12 complaints referring to “cold” with the department saying that one “involves a family living in temporary tented accommodation. They complain of the accommodation being cold and damp. They asked to be moved on these grounds”.

Gormanston camp in Co Meath was the only location with tents in use over the summer and the department said the facility is now closed.

The complaint about “cramped living conditions” came from a mother who was placed in temporary emergency accommodation with her children by a local authority for three weeks. The person complained about “unsanitary conditions” in student accommodation where the issue was a shared bathroom.

Elsewhere, a complainant said their room was wet and had a mould problem, which was affecting their asthma, and they asked to be moved.

Another complainant alleged that other refugees staying at the same location had been threatening to their family and asked to be moved.

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The department said that in such cases the Ukraine Crisis Temporary Accommodation Team’s (UCTAT) incidents unit engages with the complainants and accommodation provider to find a resolution where possible. It said any threats of violence should always be reported to the Garda.

Thirty-one complaints referenced food. One person staying in State-provided accommodation in a rural area complained of transport issues and a lack of cooking facilities in the place they were staying where the food provided was said to be “inadequate”.

One woman – who was working – was living in a hostel with her two children and was having difficulty finding private rented accommodation that she could move to. She asked the department for advice on finding a place to rent.

Another woman who had found work with a cleaning company said she had been made aware of plans to move her to new accommodation and she raised a concern that she could lose her job if she is moved.

The department said when contracts for accommodation come to an end or where the accommodation was intended for other international protection applicants, it is necessary to move people to other accommodation. “Given the significant number of people seeking accommodation, it is not possible to create tailored solutions for individuals,” it said.

In a statement on the complaints, the department said

: “Serious issues are dealt with by the responsible team. It is not possible to create bespoke moves for individuals given the sheer number of people seeking State accommodation.”