There were two types of reaction in Government to the news this week that 135 Ukrainian women and children were to be bussed out of Killarney to Westport with next to no warning.
The first type of reaction was voiced by the likes of the Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys and Fine Gael TD Fergus O’Dowd, both of whom described it as “unacceptable”. They made these comments after a last-minute scramble which saw the refugees told they could remain where they were, except in different accommodation.
The second type of reaction came from inside the Department of Children, which is responsible for managing the short-term accommodation needs for those fleeing the war in Ukraine. Officials there did not breath a sigh of relief. Instead, they ruminated on the fact that while it may not have happened this time, it will almost certainly happen again somewhere else in the country, and soon.
There is an understanding across Government that major changes will be needed if the country has any chance of being able to cope in the long-term with the continuing influx of refugees. Nowhere is that urgency felt more than within the Department of Children, led by Minister Roderic O’Gorman.
‘Reaching the limit’
“We are getting to the stage where we are reaching the limit of what we can feasibly do,” one senior Coalition source told The Irish Times.
They say the State is on the precipice of reaching its limit in terms of what it can do to house those fleeing the war in Ukraine, as well as other international protection applicants who continue to arrive.
Some 4,500 households offered to open their homes up as part of the pledge process, but there is a growing anxiety in Government about the long-term viability of these pledges. One source said that many of the homes opened their doors as part of a six-month pledge, and it is now month eight. Even with the best intentions in the world, the reality has dawned that this is a multi-year situation as opposed to a months-long, temporary crisis.
Another source confirmed that the State has also reached the ceiling of how many hotels it can contract. There are currently around 500 hotels accommodating the men, women and children from Ukraine and elsewhere. “We are always looking for extra hotels. They might come to us or we might go looking for them, but realistically we are probably near the ceiling in terms of this option,” they said. Adding to the pressure is the fact that many of the contracts with these hotels are due to end by Christmas.
The situation has also been complicated by the return to college of third-level students, with refugees being told they would have to leave the student accommodation they were placed in throughout the summer.
It would appear that few stones have been left unturned in the race to find space: the Government has mobilised to try to find available guesthouses, former religious buildings, sports halls, youth hostels, scout dens, arenas, holiday villages and tented camps.
And it is a race. On the week of October 3rd, 1,800 refugees arrived into Ireland, with 300 of them being from countries other than Ukraine. In total, since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, Ireland has welcomed almost 55,000 displaced Ukrainians. The Government this summer modelled different scenarios examining the potential influx, but the level of arrivals are tracking above expectations.
“We are talking about finding a place to stay for a population that is almost the equivalent of Waterford city. We have never had to deal with anything like this before. The challenge is immense,” a Government source said. “We had Brexit, we had Covid, we had our major plans for those crises. We need another effort even beyond those two for this.”
This week, a group of senior officials met to get the ball rolling on that very question. They are made up of senior figures from all the relevant departments: Justice, Children, Housing, the Taoiseach. They are working on a paper of options now, which is due to be finalised next week. This paper of long-term options will then be considered by a dedicated Cabinet committee which oversees and co-ordinates the Ukrainian humanitarian response. That meeting of Ministers is provisionally scheduled for Monday, October 24th.
It clear that what is under consideration is a fundamental rethink of how the State approaches the situation in the long-term. Few expect the conversation to be easy, with some major policy changes potentially on the cards.
Everything from social welfare payments to financial supports for families and work permits for refugees will be discussed. One of the most eye-catching suggestions to be discussed by the committee would involve asking people in direct provision to pay rent if they are working and have been in the direct provision centre for a number of years.
Explaining the thinking behind this, one official said that there are some people who have remained in direct provision for years and despite being in employment, it appears they do not want to leave. Whether it is that they do not want to leave, or simply can’t find anywhere to go, is another question. The official, speaking privately, said that if a person has a permanent status and is working in Ireland, the question that will be asked in the meeting will be: why should they have “rent-free accommodation” when refugees are sleeping on chairs in Citywest?
Olena Yakovlieva and Daughter Svitorada Yakovlieva at the Ukrainian culture festival, “Thank you, Ireland”, at Howth castle in Dublin in September. Photograph: Tom Honan
Another source confirmed that this would be part of the discussion, but it is a complicated and thorny topic. There are concerns about creating a landlord-tenant relationship within direct provision centres, and so another option could instead see fees charged for services.
> “nearing”
What is this? An article from June?
Christ OP, do you post about anything other than immigrants?
Who would have imagined that filling a hundred litre bath with three hundred litres of water resulted in the bath overflowing, even after you told the bath it was a racist bath.
Wait until next summer when all the hotels currently housing immigrants want to kick them out and open to tourists. Where are they all supposed to go?
We should have just closed the borders thousands of people ago
Let’s all recall the recent post showing the improvements required from someone offering up a property and the €250 contribution being offered.
I think one requirement was to actually upgrade *the heating system*.
>One of the most eye-catching suggestions to be discussed by the committee would involve asking people in direct provision to pay rent if they are working and have been in the direct provision centre for a number of years.
>Explaining the thinking behind this, one official said that there are some people who have remained in direct provision for years and despite being in employment, it appears they do not want to leave. Whether it is that they do not want to leave, or simply can’t find anywhere to go, is another question. The official, speaking privately, said that if a person has a permanent status and is working in Ireland, the question that will be asked in the meeting will be: why should they have “rent-free accommodation” when refugees are sleeping on chairs in Citywest?
What ever happened to the ‘own door’ accommodation pledge?
“Refurbishment project
As part of the work of the committee, an “Emergency Refurbishment Ukraine Project” has been set up which involves the review of properties identified as potentially suitable for refurbishment for use as multi-occupancy accommodation.
Each local authority was told to send a list of vacant public and private buildings that could be made fit for purpose. Mindful of the criticism that so many housing projects in Ireland get caught up in bureaucratic red tape, a “clearing-house group” with a number of experts has been set up in the Department of Housing specifically to look at contractual, operational and compliance matters in relation to planning permissions. An initial trawl at the start of the summer threw up 500 properties, with 90 of these capable of accommodating around 5,300 people.”
To see the extent that this government is willing to go to house the Ukrainian people would be so incredibly inspiring if it wasn’t for the fact that they have never, ever considered setting up anything near this level of emergency response for our own people.
I really have no issue with taking in Ukrainians, but Jesus Christ this governments complete disdain and apathy for the Irish people is palpable when you read this. Never have they ever leaned on local councils to this extent. They’ve would never set up a team of experts to handle the sisyphean process of planning permission for the housing disaster.
They really have absolutely no interest in this constant and neverending struggle of the Irish people.
How in the name of god can they expect to get into government ever again? Who in their right minds would vote for any of them? I’d rather see Sinn Fein burn this country to the ground and send us back to he dark ages.
Even when the golden goose of MNCs are crying out about the small talent pool who demand higher and higher salaries that make them much less competitive with other European workers, all because of this designed housing disaster, they still completely refuse to enact an emergency response that they are so clearly capable of doing. It’s sickening.
There is a solution: have the state directly build accomodation. Of course, this would violate the government’s ideology and thus the conversation will turn to getting rid of refugees (which is cruel and entirely unnessessary)
Do you hate Ukrainians? You post literally nothing else.
11 comments
There were two types of reaction in Government to the news this week that 135 Ukrainian women and children were to be bussed out of Killarney to Westport with next to no warning.
The first type of reaction was voiced by the likes of the Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys and Fine Gael TD Fergus O’Dowd, both of whom described it as “unacceptable”. They made these comments after a last-minute scramble which saw the refugees told they could remain where they were, except in different accommodation.
The second type of reaction came from inside the Department of Children, which is responsible for managing the short-term accommodation needs for those fleeing the war in Ukraine. Officials there did not breath a sigh of relief. Instead, they ruminated on the fact that while it may not have happened this time, it will almost certainly happen again somewhere else in the country, and soon.
There is an understanding across Government that major changes will be needed if the country has any chance of being able to cope in the long-term with the continuing influx of refugees. Nowhere is that urgency felt more than within the Department of Children, led by Minister Roderic O’Gorman.
‘Reaching the limit’
“We are getting to the stage where we are reaching the limit of what we can feasibly do,” one senior Coalition source told The Irish Times.
They say the State is on the precipice of reaching its limit in terms of what it can do to house those fleeing the war in Ukraine, as well as other international protection applicants who continue to arrive.
Some 4,500 households offered to open their homes up as part of the pledge process, but there is a growing anxiety in Government about the long-term viability of these pledges. One source said that many of the homes opened their doors as part of a six-month pledge, and it is now month eight. Even with the best intentions in the world, the reality has dawned that this is a multi-year situation as opposed to a months-long, temporary crisis.
Another source confirmed that the State has also reached the ceiling of how many hotels it can contract. There are currently around 500 hotels accommodating the men, women and children from Ukraine and elsewhere. “We are always looking for extra hotels. They might come to us or we might go looking for them, but realistically we are probably near the ceiling in terms of this option,” they said. Adding to the pressure is the fact that many of the contracts with these hotels are due to end by Christmas.
The situation has also been complicated by the return to college of third-level students, with refugees being told they would have to leave the student accommodation they were placed in throughout the summer.
It would appear that few stones have been left unturned in the race to find space: the Government has mobilised to try to find available guesthouses, former religious buildings, sports halls, youth hostels, scout dens, arenas, holiday villages and tented camps.
And it is a race. On the week of October 3rd, 1,800 refugees arrived into Ireland, with 300 of them being from countries other than Ukraine. In total, since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, Ireland has welcomed almost 55,000 displaced Ukrainians. The Government this summer modelled different scenarios examining the potential influx, but the level of arrivals are tracking above expectations.
“We are talking about finding a place to stay for a population that is almost the equivalent of Waterford city. We have never had to deal with anything like this before. The challenge is immense,” a Government source said. “We had Brexit, we had Covid, we had our major plans for those crises. We need another effort even beyond those two for this.”
This week, a group of senior officials met to get the ball rolling on that very question. They are made up of senior figures from all the relevant departments: Justice, Children, Housing, the Taoiseach. They are working on a paper of options now, which is due to be finalised next week. This paper of long-term options will then be considered by a dedicated Cabinet committee which oversees and co-ordinates the Ukrainian humanitarian response. That meeting of Ministers is provisionally scheduled for Monday, October 24th.
It clear that what is under consideration is a fundamental rethink of how the State approaches the situation in the long-term. Few expect the conversation to be easy, with some major policy changes potentially on the cards.
Everything from social welfare payments to financial supports for families and work permits for refugees will be discussed. One of the most eye-catching suggestions to be discussed by the committee would involve asking people in direct provision to pay rent if they are working and have been in the direct provision centre for a number of years.
Explaining the thinking behind this, one official said that there are some people who have remained in direct provision for years and despite being in employment, it appears they do not want to leave. Whether it is that they do not want to leave, or simply can’t find anywhere to go, is another question. The official, speaking privately, said that if a person has a permanent status and is working in Ireland, the question that will be asked in the meeting will be: why should they have “rent-free accommodation” when refugees are sleeping on chairs in Citywest?
Olena Yakovlieva and Daughter Svitorada Yakovlieva at the Ukrainian culture festival, “Thank you, Ireland”, at Howth castle in Dublin in September. Photograph: Tom Honan
Another source confirmed that this would be part of the discussion, but it is a complicated and thorny topic. There are concerns about creating a landlord-tenant relationship within direct provision centres, and so another option could instead see fees charged for services.
> “nearing”
What is this? An article from June?
Christ OP, do you post about anything other than immigrants?
Who would have imagined that filling a hundred litre bath with three hundred litres of water resulted in the bath overflowing, even after you told the bath it was a racist bath.
Wait until next summer when all the hotels currently housing immigrants want to kick them out and open to tourists. Where are they all supposed to go?
We should have just closed the borders thousands of people ago
Let’s all recall the recent post showing the improvements required from someone offering up a property and the €250 contribution being offered.
I think one requirement was to actually upgrade *the heating system*.
>One of the most eye-catching suggestions to be discussed by the committee would involve asking people in direct provision to pay rent if they are working and have been in the direct provision centre for a number of years.
>Explaining the thinking behind this, one official said that there are some people who have remained in direct provision for years and despite being in employment, it appears they do not want to leave. Whether it is that they do not want to leave, or simply can’t find anywhere to go, is another question. The official, speaking privately, said that if a person has a permanent status and is working in Ireland, the question that will be asked in the meeting will be: why should they have “rent-free accommodation” when refugees are sleeping on chairs in Citywest?
What ever happened to the ‘own door’ accommodation pledge?
“Refurbishment project
As part of the work of the committee, an “Emergency Refurbishment Ukraine Project” has been set up which involves the review of properties identified as potentially suitable for refurbishment for use as multi-occupancy accommodation.
Each local authority was told to send a list of vacant public and private buildings that could be made fit for purpose. Mindful of the criticism that so many housing projects in Ireland get caught up in bureaucratic red tape, a “clearing-house group” with a number of experts has been set up in the Department of Housing specifically to look at contractual, operational and compliance matters in relation to planning permissions. An initial trawl at the start of the summer threw up 500 properties, with 90 of these capable of accommodating around 5,300 people.”
To see the extent that this government is willing to go to house the Ukrainian people would be so incredibly inspiring if it wasn’t for the fact that they have never, ever considered setting up anything near this level of emergency response for our own people.
I really have no issue with taking in Ukrainians, but Jesus Christ this governments complete disdain and apathy for the Irish people is palpable when you read this. Never have they ever leaned on local councils to this extent. They’ve would never set up a team of experts to handle the sisyphean process of planning permission for the housing disaster.
They really have absolutely no interest in this constant and neverending struggle of the Irish people.
How in the name of god can they expect to get into government ever again? Who in their right minds would vote for any of them? I’d rather see Sinn Fein burn this country to the ground and send us back to he dark ages.
Even when the golden goose of MNCs are crying out about the small talent pool who demand higher and higher salaries that make them much less competitive with other European workers, all because of this designed housing disaster, they still completely refuse to enact an emergency response that they are so clearly capable of doing. It’s sickening.
There is a solution: have the state directly build accomodation. Of course, this would violate the government’s ideology and thus the conversation will turn to getting rid of refugees (which is cruel and entirely unnessessary)
Do you hate Ukrainians? You post literally nothing else.