The Taoiseach defended the government’s response when Ukrainian refugees were expelled from Dublin’s Citywest centre.
Thirty-three Ukrainian refugees who arrived in Ireland this week were informed that there was no accommodation for them yesterday.
All of them were tried for the first time and received Temporary Protected Status at Citywest.
The Department of Childhood, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth assured that all those who left homeless were single men.
He said no newly arrived women or children were turned away.
The Capuchin Day Center welcomed more than a dozen Ukrainian refugees this morning, all with luggage.
RTÉ News spoke to some of them who said they spent the night sleeping at Dublin airport after being turned away by Citywest.
Taoiseach Michéal Martin defended the government’s response, stating that the state had been not slow but extraordinarily fast in responding to a war situation.
He said that Ireland has responded extraordinarily in terms of the numbers they had already taken on.
Asked why there was a crisis now when the numbers were anticipated months ago, Martin said he didn’t accept it and that no one had forecast the extent of the arrivals.
“The figures were not supposed to be higher, certainly not before the summer,” he said, reports RTE.
According to RTE, he added: “We will have to move faster to accommodate increasing numbers. There’s an intensification of the war and it’s taking a very nasty turn and civilians are now a target.”
On March 22, Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland that up to 200,000 Ukrainian refugees could reach Ireland. On the same day, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar told the Dáil that 40,000 Ukrainians could arrive by the end of April.
A statement from the Department for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth said Thursday that more than 58,000 people (42,000 Ukrainians, 16,000 international protection) have arrived in Ireland this year.
Martin said a number of measures will come from different departments at a meeting on Monday, including a bigger incentive for host families.
When asked what people who are turned away from Citywest are told, he said, we simply told them, there is no housing.
Mr. Martin spoke at the Fianna Fáil President’s Dinner in Dublin tonight.
On Thursday, the department said the Citywest transit center was full.
Minister Roderic O’Gorman said that while the most vulnerable will be provided with housing this weekend, others will not be offered anything and it cannot be ruled out that as a result people may sleep outdoors.
Similarly, applicants for international protection are rejected without accommodation, but no data is available on how many have already been informed that there is no accommodation for them.
Martin Heydon, Minister of State at the Department for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, said the government “cannot guarantee” a bed for every refugee arriving in Ireland.
Heydon said that the Irish government and society have made enormous efforts to deal with the scale of the crisis and the influx of Ukrainian refugees.
‘We are talking about 60,000 people who have come to our shores this year, who are seeking and who have been accommodated by the State. Today, that compares to 7,250 this time last year, that’s the equivalent of the population of Waterford city,” he said, reports RTE.
The head of community policy and communication, Simon, said the situation for Ukrainian refugees is very worrying and will likely worsen if large numbers continue to arrive.
Speaking on RTÉ on Saturday with Katie Hannon, Wayne Stanley said frontline services like Simon will continue to try to support people, but there is no capacity in the system to receive people.
This is a perfect storm, he said, and the next few weeks are going to be very difficult.
Mr Stanley said he had experienced one or two isolated incidents of refugees sleeping restless, but so far the awareness teams have not seen large numbers of people on the streets.
He said vulnerable people are screened upon arrival, but warned that families could also be involved in the crisis.
Speaking on the same show, Heydon said that he understood that 33 Ukrainian men were tried at Citywest but could not be accommodated last night.
“We can’t guarantee everyone who comes here a bed right now,” he added, reports RTE.
He said land earmarked for Housing for All should be used for modular housing for refugees and the Irish.
Fine Gael TD for Kildare South said the Office of Public Works and the Integration Department are conducting a review of land in Kildare that has been identified for modular homes.
Sligo – Leitrim Independent TD Marian Harkin said a delicate balance had to be struck.
She said that there is a duty to provide shelter and security, but the country is at its best.
Paul Murphy, People Before Profit’s TD for South West Dublin, has called on the government to take more hotel rooms to house refugees and people facing eviction.
Murphy said the state currently has 16,000 of the 62,000 hotel rooms.
He said vacant properties need to be managed for the long term.
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