No Ukrainian refugees spent night in old Dublin Airport terminal, says department

No Ukrainian refugees spent Friday night at the old terminal building in Dublin Airport, the Government has confirmed.

Some 180 refugees spent two nights in the old terminal building when the State ran out of space to accommodate them at the Citywest hotel on Wednesday and Thursday night.

Many were forced to spend two nights on the floor, with many sleeping on the clothes they brought with them.

The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, which is responsible for housing Ukrainian refugees, said no one spent the night at the Dublin airport facility. All who had been there were transferred to accommodation. “There is nobody there at present,” a spokesman said.

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Media consultant Tom McEnaney, who has volunteered to bring refugees to Ireland since the start of the war in Ukraine, said those who had been in Dublin Airport have been moved to Citywest and to a facility in Howth.

As of Monday, 40,678 people had arrived into the State from Ukraine since the Russian invasion on February 24th, including 1,454 in the first week of June.

The Government has said there will be no cap on the number of Ukrainian refugees coming to Ireland as the EU-wide response to the conflict does not allow nation states to impose such limitations.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has blamed an “unprecedented number of arrivals” for the accommodation impasse and added that refugees were coming from other countries too because of the policies of the UK government which was threatening to deport refugees to Rwanda.

Speaking on Thursday, Mr Martin said 8 million Ukrainians were externally displaced and looking for shelter elsewhere in Europe.

“We as a country have a legal and moral obligation to provide for Ukrainians who are fleeing war and turn into destruction,” he said.

“I have witnessed entire residential blocks being destroyed by Russia. And the vast majority coming to Ireland are mothers and children. There has been a surge in international protection application numbers.

“Annually, one could have been anticipating maybe 3,500. This year, that could be four or five times that figure, maybe more by the end of the year. So much so that Citywest, which was designed as a reception centre for Ukrainian refugees fleeing war, some 70 per cent are international protection applicants.”

The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Michael McGrath said the provision of accommodation and supports for Ukrainian refugees coming to Ireland is likely to top €1 billion this year.

Speaking on RTÉ Radio One’s Saturday with Katie Hannon programme, junior minister Robert Troy defended the Government’s record in relation to Ukrainian refugees.

He said there are now 100 million displaced citizens worldwide and all countries have to deal with it.

“We are responding to a hugely challenging situation,” he said. “We have been able to house refugees up to this. It continues to be a challenge. There continues to be offers coming in through the departments and local authorities. We are looking at modular homes and vacant properties. There is a whole of Government response to this.”