The influx of Ukrainian refugees is perhaps the “greatest humanitarian crisis Ireland has ever faced,” a Government Minister has said.
Figures from the Department of Children show 15,294 refugees have arrived in Ireland and 8,658 of them are in State-provided accommodation.
While 23 minors who fled war-torn Ukraine have come on their own to Ireland.
But the Government believes that around half of the minors have been reunited with their families here now.
Addressing the war in Ukraine, Minister Roderic O’Gorman said this “is perhaps the greatest humanitarian crisis Ireland has ever faced.”
Speaking in the Dail on Wednesday, Minister O’Gorman said current modelling suggests that there is an inevitability to moving into an emergency accommodation phase when pledged and other serviced supply is exhausted.
Contingency plans include the use of arenas and conference centres as well as Gormanstown Camp to help the State cope with housing refugees.
He revealed: “It will not be own door, and may mean camp beds in shared spaces.
“It is not our first preference, however, it may be a contingency that is needed if we are to provide safety to those who are fleeing the war.
“Our response will not just need to be an all-of-Government approach, but an all-of-society approach.”
He said currently, the vast majority of those who are being accommodated by the State are in hotels and, to date, the Government has contracted almost 3,000 hotel rooms across the country.
He said: “Given the ability of the state to contract hotels at scale and at pace, this has provided the bulk of the initial emergency response.
“However, there are limits on the ability of hotels to accommodate all those fleeing, given the potential numbers, and measures that need to be put in place to respond to this.”
He said there has been a remarkable response by the Irish public, with over 22,000 pledges already received.
The Red Cross and the Defence Forces are focusing firstly on vacant properties, which make up just under 5,000 of the 22,000 pledges.
He said child protection is a priority and for this reason, any person in Ireland offering a room in a shared home will have to be vetted before they are matched with a refugee.
He said discussions with Airbnb and the Government will also conclude in the coming days and that his Department is continuing to engage with religious orders to identify properties which may be suitable for use as accommodation for those fleeing Ukraine.
He said: “Given this is a crisis situation, I have to be honest with the public, and with those fleeing here.
“This is perhaps the greatest humanitarian crisis Ireland has ever faced.
“More than 14,000 people have fled here in just over a month, with more than half of these now accommodated by the State.
“This response will get more challenging over the coming weeks and months.
“The accommodation available through local authorities, religious organisations, State bodies and pledged accommodation is unlikely to meet the level of need should the higher estimated numbers of people arriving come to pass in the weeks ahead.”
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