The Irish Times view on Ukrainian refugees in Ireland: the housing challenge

With the flow of Ukrainian refugees into Ireland down to between 700 and 1,200 a week, the total intake since the Russian invasion will top 50,000 within days. The war and the stream of refugees promise to continue at least well into next year. Ireland’s welcome open door policy for Ukrainians and its wider two-tier asylum protection regime will both be tested.

There are now 15,000 asylum seekers in the International Protection Accommodation Services (Ipas) system compared with around 7,000 this time last year. This is in addition to the 35,000 Ukrainian refugees being accommodated by the State. The accommodation system for asylum seekers generally is at “breaking point”, officials say. Not least because the return of students to college accommodation in the next few days is adding new strains to the country’s overstretched housing sector. Over this weekend alone some 1,500 Ukrainians were being asked to move out of campus rooms that were always set to be temporary – another 3,500 will be forced to move from student accommodation in the next few weeks.

Where they will go is not clear. Some 35,000 of the refugees are being accommodated by the State, with 10 per cent of the total intake in privately offered homes. And, although there have been a large number of offers from businesses and individuals to house refugees, almost all offers are explicitly restricted to Ukrainians with the result that the pressures to accommodate the general asylum seeker population are now even more severe than the specific challenge of housing Ukrainians.

The two-tier system, and the well-documented problems with conditions at direct provision centres, make for an intolerable situation. A number of asylum seekers are already being temporarily housed in Defence Forces tents on the grounds of accommodation centres, while there have been reports of those in the centre in Citywest in Dublin being forced to sleep on chairs. The challenge in accommodating Ukrainians is also placing strains on budgets and other institutions. Some 3,800 summer arrivals of children will need school places over the coming weeks, joining the 7,000 Ukrainian children already attending primary and secondary schools.

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But the evidence shows that Ukrainians in Ireland are eager to work and to contribute to their new home. Employment support events arranged by Intreo Public Employment Services have been attended by 15,627 and more than 7,100 Ukrainian refugees are now in employment in Ireland, filling more than 8,000 jobs, according to the latest official figures, close to half in the accommodation and food services sector, with 1,098 in the wholesale and retail sector.