The government is working to accommodate 10,000 refugees in refurbished buildings by the end of next year, the Taoiseach said.
Leo Varadkar said Ireland was facing a refugee crisis of a scale never imagined, adding that it was difficult to predict when alternative accommodation could be provided for everyone currently staying in hotels and boarding houses.
“We’re doing everything we can. We’ve experienced a refugee crisis in Ireland the likes of which we’ve never experienced before, and never imagined. Nearly 100,000 people have come to Ireland in the past year, mostly from Ukraine, but also from other parts of the world, and it is actually a considerable achievement that we managed to provide shelter and accommodation for almost all of them,” he said, reports Breaking News.
Asked about the timeline for the delivery of the refurbished shelters, Mr Varadkar said: “Some of them are starting to come on stream at the moment. These are refurbished old buildings that are being brought back into use as accommodation. I think the first couple of hundred will be available in the next couple of weeks but the 10,000 figure would be between now and the end of next year,” reports Breaking News.
On Thursday, cabinet ministers agreed to pay €1.5 million for a refugee relocation scheme instead of honoring an earlier promise to take in 350 additional applicants for international protection.
Almost two years ago, Ireland agreed to take in 350 applicants as part of a Europe-wide initiative to relieve Mediterranean countries of dealing with the influx of refugees from Africa.
The government has now decided to contribute €1.5 million to the voluntary solidarity mechanism instead of accepting refugees, reports Breaking News.
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