The UN refugee agency has expressed concern over the continued use of tent accommodation for asylum seekers and Ukrainian refugees in Ireland as the weather worsens, reports RTE.
The Irish Refugee Council also said it had “grave concerns about people living in tents as the weather gets colder”.
More than 450 applicants for international protection live in three accommodation facilities located in Dublin, Clare and Westmeath.
As of 8 October, the majority, an estimated 319 people, lived on the site of the former Dundrum Central Psychiatric Hospital.
The marquee facility at Columb Barracks in Mullingar can accommodate 56 applicants for international protection, while the tents next to the Knocklishin Direct Provisioning Facility in Mellick, Clare provide accommodation for 76 asylum seekers, reports RTE.
Tent accommodation for Ukrainian refugees in Stradbally, Co Laois, will close tomorrow.
The Head of the Dublin Office of the UNHCR, Enda O’Neill, said: “While we acknowledge that the challenges facing the Government in light of the numbers arriving into Ireland, both from Ukraine and other countries are significant, the fact that hundreds of people are still living in tented accommodation as winter approaches highlights the importance of sustainable planning and innovative solutions to our accommodation challenges.
He added: “UNHCR believes asylum seekers should not be accommodated in tents except when absolutely necessary, where no alternative, more appropriate solutions are available, and only as a temporary, time-limited measure in exceptional circumstances,” reports RTE.
Nick Henderson, chief executive of the Irish Refugee Council, said the tent accommodation was “fundamentally inappropriate”.
“We have grave concerns about people living in tents as the weather gets colder. We visited the Central Mental Hospital location last week and met with people living there,” Mr Henderson said, reports RTE.
“People spoke of the difficulty in living and sleeping in a temporary tent, particularly in bad weather,” he added, reports RTE.
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