A group of Ukrainian refugees living in a southwest Dublin hotel have complained about the selection of food served to residents, given refugees were now required to pay for meals following recent changes.
Valeriia Krasnova (29), one of the Ukrainian residents in the hotel, said tensions had been growing between refugees and hotel management in recent days, following a dispute over the menu of food served in the hotel.
The group of Ukrainian refugees are living in The Address hotel, in Citywest, Co Dublin, and have clashed with staff in recent days.
Ms Krasnova said the residents had been seeking to have the menu expanded, to include more fruit, and a wider selection. “They are not listening to us at all,” she told The Irish Times.
In recent weeks the Department of Integration introduced new rules where Ukrainian refugees would be charged for meals in hotel and guest house accommodation contracted by the State, at €10 a day for adults and €5 a day per child.
“I pay for all the week €210, for me, my sister and husband ... Before we didn’t say anything [about the food] because we didn’t pay for it,” Ms Krasnova said.
In recent weeks tensions had risen between residents and staff over the food provided, leading to arguments, she said. “We need to pay, we understand the decisions” she said.
“When we started to pay, when we were talking to people from other hotels, we realised they have more, have fruit, yoghurts,” she said.
Some parents had complained that the food was at times not suitable or nutritious enough for children, she said.
Ms Krasnova, who is originally from the city of Kharkiv, said he fled the war with Russia and came to Ireland last June.
“We come here to start our lives again. We can’t return, maybe sometime in the future,” she said.
Initially she said she was housed in student accommodation in Maynooth University. She was moved, along with her husband and sister to The Address hotel in Citywest last July.
A Department of Integration spokeswoman said it had received reports about issues raised by residents in the hotel, which were currently “under investigation”.
In a statement, a spokesman for the hotel said it had been providing accommodation to Ukrainians fleeing the war since last July.
“The hotel is currently providing accommodation for 140 Ukrainian refugees in addition to operating as normal for other guests,” he said.
“The hotel has worked closely and successfully with the Ukrainian community since July of last year to ensure their needs are provided for as best as possible given the emergency circumstances of their accommodation and will continue to do so,” he said.
The spokesman said the hotel provided three meals a day which included “a varied, nutritious, balanced and high-quality menu”. The hotel was confident its food service met the “high standards it strives to provide”, with management available to respond to further requirements from guests.
