Old Dublin Airport terminal used for refugees as State runs out of accommodation

New arrivals to Ireland fleeing war in Ukraine or seeking asylum from other countries are staying at the old central terminal building at Dublin Airport due to a shortage of State-provided accommodation.

On Wednesday, the Department of Children said it has had to pause the intake of new arrivals into existing State accommodation because it had run out of beds and space at Citywest and has no immediate contingency plan in place.

The shortage of accommodation means any Ukrainians or asylum seekers arriving into the State over the next 48 hours may be stranded in an airport without a bed.

The Department said the Government is working intensively to put alternative arrangements in place immediately.

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In a statement, DAA, the operator of Dublin Airport, said it has made the Old Central Terminal building at Dublin Airport available to the Department to help them “facilitate the arrival of Ukrainian nationals into Ireland”.

“All and any services being offered within the building are looked after by the Department,” the DAA added.

The Old Central Terminal Building had previously been used as a Ukrainian reception centre in March.

Speaking to reporters, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the Government will prioritise people fleeing war and vulnerable people in the international protection system. Mr Martin also said that tented accommodation in Gormanston will open on Monday.

[ State runs out of accommodation for new Ukrainian refugees and asylum seekers ]

[ War in Ukraine: what will it take for either side to win? ]

He said Ministers will meet later today to formulate contingency plans.

Mr Martin also described the UK’s so-called Rwanda policy as “shocking” and said it has had an impact on incoming numbers. Mr Martin also revealed that 70 per cent of those in Citywest are international protection.

Mr Martin will meet senior Ministers on Thursday to discuss the situation and “review the current policies and processes,” a Government spokeswoman said on Wednesday

She said there had been a “very significant” increase in the number of people seeking asylum in recent weeks and this has caused a “severe shortage” of available accommodation for both Ukrainian refugees and asylum seekers.

“This is causing overcrowding in the Citywest transit hub,” she said. “Incoming arrivals overnight will remain in Dublin Airport if they do not have an alternative source of accommodation. Government is working intensively to put alternative arrangements in place with immediate effect.”

Capacity issues at the Citywest conference facility became so great that the State had to source food from outside suppliers in addition to the catering available on site.

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

Fiona Hurley of the Nasc, Migrant and Refugee Rights Centre, has called for a “whole-of-Government” response and a long-term plan to the issue of refugees arriving from Ukraine.

[ The Ukrainian refugees who came to Ireland and went back home again ]

[ Most Ukrainian refugees arriving in Ireland are lone parents with children — CSO ]

Speaking on RTÉ Radio’s Today with Claire Byrne show, Ms Hurley said the issue needed to be “more than just the remit” of the Department of Children. As the war in Ukraine looked like it would continue for some time, a long-term plan was necessary, she added.

Ms Hurley acknowledged there were delays in “actualising” offers of accommodation from the public, in such cases she urged people to get in touch with the Refugee Council. The numbers arriving had been anticipated and discussed by the Government earlier this year, she said, adding now it was necessary to put plans in place to ensure facilities could be provided.

“They will need to have a place to go, they will need homes,” she said.

Ms Hurley described recent comments by the Department of Justice about refugees who were not “fleeing war or conflict” as “concerning”. Refugees were not just people fleeing war or conflict — they could be fleeing many other desperate situations such as religious persecution, she said.

There was a need for quicker processing times and individual assessment of people’s cases, she said, adding it was taking two years for refugees to get their first interview in some cases.