Pressure on system to house Ukrainian refugees reaches crunch point

It is eight months since Russian president Vladimir Putin’s tanks rolled across the border in his invasion of Ukraine.

More than 5 million Ukrainian people have fled the bombs and bullets since, and about 55,000 have arrived in Ireland.

Combined with an increase in the number of people seeking international protection from other countries — more than 10,000 this year — Ireland has housed almost 70,000 people.

Against the backdrop of the housing crisis, the pressure on accommodation reached a crunch point at the weekend when the Citywest transit hub was closed to new arrivals and refugees ended up sleeping at Dublin Airport.

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On Tuesday Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said Ireland will not resile from its international obligations but “we do need to say to people that if you come here we can’t guarantee you accommodation at the moment and indeed for the next couple of weeks”.

As Jack Horgan-Jones reports today, there are indications that message is already being heard in Ukraine.

The number of Ukrainians arriving into Ireland fell after a shortage of beds was signalled in what Government figures believe may be a “chill effect” caused by the accommodation shortfall.

The latest figures show that just 167 people fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine arrived on Sunday and Monday, compared to 256 in the same period the previous week and 272 the week before that.

Horgan-Jones also reports that Minister for Integration Roderic O’Gorman met Ukrainian ambassador Larysa Gerasko in Dublin on Tuesday.

A statement from his department afterwards said they discussed “developing communications for Ukrainian people, both in Ireland and those who may travel to Ireland”.

A source said the intention was to establish “how do we warn people when accommodation is low”.

The drop in numbers may only be temporary as the war has escalated in Ukraine — including Russian attacks on its cities — leading to an expectation that many more people will leave.

Government officials are furiously pulling together a range of new measures to present to Cabinet as early as the coming days.

It comes after Coalition leaders and key Ministers met on Monday and agreed that new hotel contracts exclude the provision of food, that payments to those hosting Ukrainians will double to €800 and the modular housing programme will be expanded.

There have been huge difficulties in generating new accommodation, as Mr O’Gorman outlined on Tuesday night.

He told RTÉ's Prime Time that only about 10 properties out of 500 identified as having the potential to accommodate Ukrainians are housing people, and it is “fair to say the refurbishment scheme is behind schedule”.

He said between 400 and 500 people are accommodated in these buildings but that many more State-owned buildings had proven to be unsuitable when investigated.

Meanwhile, there are about 2,000 pledged properties still “in play”, the Minister told the programme, while admitting that the original system for allotting people to pledged properties “wasn’t perfect”.

The refugee issue sparked a row in the Dáil as Pat Leahy and Marie O’Halloran report here. Taoiseach Micheál Martin accused Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald of “playing both sides” on Ukrainian refugees.

During sharp exchanges, Ms McDonald said the Government’s failure to accommodate Ukrainian refugees mirrored its general failures on housing.

Miriam Lord’s piece on the bust-up can be found here.

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In an analysis piece here he describes Mr Sunak’s new cabinet as “more a government of all the factions than all the talents”.

Work is continuing on the complex new law on hate crime and hate speech which was brought to Cabinet on Tuesday. Jennifer Bray and Pat Leahy report that the new law will criminalise incitement to hatred against transgender people and those with a disability. Ministers approved the Bill which is intended to make prosecutions for hate speech and hate crimes easier.

On our world pages Jade Wilson reports from the West Bank on how conditions for Palestinians are getting worse as Israeli settlements expand.

Playbook

Dáil proceedings start with Topical Issues at 9.12am before a debate on a People Before Profit-Solidarity motion on emergency measures to increase the supply of social and affordable housing.

Leaders’ Questions are at noon before Government business including a Bill on emergency electricity generation runs into the evening in advance of the weekly votes from 9.54pm.

The Committee on Health committee will be updated on Sláintecare from 9.30am.

The Committee on Finance will examine the concrete blocks levy with various groups including the Construction Industry Federation at 1.30pm.

Officials from the departments of Finance and Public Expenditure will be quizzed on Budget 2023 at the Committee on Budgetary Oversight from 5.30pm.

The Judicial Appointments Commission Bill will be in the Seanad from 4pm.

The full Dáil, Seanad and committee schedule can be found here, here and here.