Around 380 refugees living at the Hotel Killarney in Kerry have received notices that they will be moved to alternative accommodation “soon”, reports RTE.
Most of the applicants for international protection living there, about 200 single men and dozens of families, have been there since October.
This week, residents received letters from the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) telling them that ‘the accommodation location would soon no longer be available” as the “contract with the hotel is coming to an end”, reports RTE.
Residents were told to expect a further letter, which also explained where they were moving and that people could not request to move to particular locations “due to the severe pressure” on housing availability.
Two mothers staying at the hotel and whose children study in local schools told RTÉ News that this would be the third time in 12 months that they have moved with their children.
One mother told RTÉ News: “I’d prefer to stay. My son has been moving to too many different schools,” reports RTE.
She said she was happy at the hotel, which had a playground for children and where they were given space to cook their own food.
She also said hotel security had been beefed up after an incident on 1 January, when 20 male residents were involved in a violent disorder incident at a hotel.
Those involved were removed from the hotel after the incident and some were charged with violent disorder.
Marilyn Counihan, coordinator of the Killarney Asylum Seekers Initiative, said the move would be “hard on families and on children in particular”, reports RTE.
Last October, plans to relocate Ukrainian refugees who had been living in hotels in Westport, County Mayo since March, prompted a local community-led campaign urging them to stay in the area.
Local accommodation was therefore found for 135 Ukrainians, many of whom worked in the city and had children who attended local schools.
A manager at the Killarney Hotel said they were unable to comment.
Tourism Minister Catherine Martin warned that many hotels currently hosting refugees or asylum seekers have indicated they will return to the tourist market in March.
Last November, several local councilors raised concerns at a Killarney Borough meeting about the potential impact of accommodating so many refugees and asylum seekers in the city’s hotels.
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