An appeal to refugees and asylum seekers not to travel to Ireland due to a collapse in accommodation options is under consideration as Dublin’s Citywest transit hub looks set to close early next week.
On Thursday, Minister for Integration Roderic O’Gorman said it was looking unlikely the State could accommodate all arrivals in the near term.
“We are entering a particularly difficult number of weeks in terms of the provision of new additional accommodation and particularly for international protection applicants,” he said in an interview with RTE.
“Particularly over the next number of weeks into about mid-February it is difficult to get a line of sight over enough accommodation to meet what we anticipate will be the number of arrivals.”
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Mr O’Gorman said the Citywest facility would soon have to close its doors to new international protection arrivals seeking accommodation. It is understood this is expected to happen at the beginning of next week, although it will continue processing applications.
It will be the third time the centre has been forced to stop taking in new arrivals and Mr O’Gorman said this was likely to be longer in duration, stretching into a number of weeks.
With accommodation options near exhausted, vulnerable groups including women and children are to be prioritised. Others will be given food vouchers and contacted at a later stage should accommodation become available.
There are currently about 73,000 migrants housed in Ireland, comprising 54,000 Ukrainian refugees and 19,000 international protection applicants. That compares to approximately 7,500 people before war broke out in Ukraine.
It is understood the Government is now considering issuing a renewed appeal to those planning on travelling to Ireland to reconsider, if they are in a safe place, given the lack of places to stay.
A similar move was taken in mid-December, targeted at Ukrainians, but a renewed appeal if sanctioned could include asylum seekers.
While an appeal to Ukrainians would be channeled through the country’s ambassador and media, the latter group, given the diffuse nature of origins, would be more difficult to reach effectively, although it would likely include migrant NGO and social media channels.
In January alone, there are 900 fewer bed spaces available for international protection applicants, according to a spokesman for the Minister.
Two accommodation procurement teams, one focusing on Ukrainian refugees and the other on asylum seekers, are continuing to source any other viable options.
Mr O’Gorman said that in mid-February they expect to see more capacity come online in hotels, converted buildings and other venues.
On Thursday, the UN Refugee Agency called for urgent Government action to avoid large numbers of asylum-seekers being left “homeless and destitute”.
“The situation is likely to deteriorate further over the coming weeks and months with the withdrawal of several large hotels which are currently accommodating asylum-seekers,” it said.
Enda O’Neill, the head of UNHCR Ireland, said it was clear that reliance on privately contracted accommodation could not be maintained and that only urgent intervention “at the most senior level across national and local government” can fend off mass homelessness.
