Integration Minister Roderic O’Gorman has said that five “significant” hotels that are currently housing 1,600 international protection seekers will exit the system by the end of April.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar also dismissed suggestions that the Government is doing more for refugees than it is for Irish people who are homeless.
Speaking at Government Buildings on Wednesday, Minister O’Gorman acknowledged that the accommodation for refugees is under “significant pressure”.
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Since Christmas, his Department has secured 5,000 beds for Ukrainian refugees and 2,000 beds for International Protection Seekers.
Minister O’Gorman said: “It has been difficult to secure additional accommodation over the last number of months.
“Between the end of March and the end of April, we are under significant pressure.
“About five significant hotels will be leaving the international protection accommodation system.
“We are looking to put in place measures to bring on additional private accommodation during that period of time. There's also measures that other Government Departments are taking, like the work the Tánaiste [Micheál Martin] is doing through the Department of Defence, having already brought the Kilbride Barracks online.
“It continues to be a difficult space, but we continue to work to secure accommodation.
“I think it is fair to say that people may have to move and that obviously has impact, particularly for families, that we may not we may not be able to secure accommodation in the immediate area of where they're currently living.”
The Taoiseach, meanwhile, dismissed suggestion that the Government is doing more to support Ukrainian refugees than Irish people.
He told the Irish Mirror: “I run into people in my constituency who would say to me 'you're doing X, Y, and Z for the Ukrainians or you are doing X, Y, and Z for refugees, but you're not doing anything for the Irish homeless'.
"First of all, nearly 40% of people who are in emergency accommodation or homeless aren't Irish citizens and that's often missed.
"Secondly, what we're doing for Ukrainians and what we're doing for people who've international protection is probably less than what we're doing for people who are registered as homeless.
"Unfortunately, there are people seeking international protection who we are not able to offer accommodation at all to at the moment.
"When it comes to Ukrainians, by and large what we're doing is accommodating them in hotels and B&Bs. It's not great, but it's the best we can do.
"But the idea that somehow we're doing more for people from abroad than we are for our own citizens, that just isn't factually correct."
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