Indoor arena at Abbotstown to be used for emergency refugee accommodation

Sport Ireland is to make the National Indoor Athletics Training Centre at Abbotstown in north Co Dublin available for use as emergency housing for refugees.

The Athletics Training Centre, part of the National Indoor Arena, is State-owned and contains permanent shower and recreational facilities. Sport Ireland said the Blanchardstown training centre would be used for six weeks, during which time there would be some disruption to sporting bodies scheduled to use the facility.

Authorities will use the six-week period to provide more permanent accommodation for refugees. The decision to hand over the centre came after a request from the Government.

The task of securing accommodation for Ukrainians who have fled to Ireland has become more challenging in recent weeks due to refugees moving out of student accommodation as third-level students are returning to college. Some 1,500 Ukrainian people were due to move out of student accommodation last weekend.

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Sport Ireland said it welcomed the opportunity to support the emergency response for the refugees. The organisation said it was grateful for the support shown by the wider sporting community in making all refugees feel welcome in Ireland.

Sport Ireland Chief Executive Dr Una May commented: “Sport Ireland is pleased to be in a position to respond positively to the Government’s request to make the National Indoor Athletics Training Centre available to support the ongoing refugee accommodation challenges. This emergency initiative will be for a period of up to six weeks, allowing the relevant authorities to provide more permanent accommodation for the refugees. Following this, the arena will be available for the beginning of the indoor athletics season.

“Sport has been a welcome lifeline for many refugees arriving into Ireland in recent months and the wider sport sector is to be commended in that regard. Sport Ireland Facilities will be offering the use of the facilities on the Sport Ireland Campus for use by the refugees for the duration of their stay.

“Sport Ireland would like to place on record its gratitude to customers of the National Indoor Athletics Training Centre for their patience and understanding on this matter.”

All impacted customers have been contacted, however any queries regarding bookings in National Indoor Athletics Training Centre should be directed to bookings@sportirelandcampus.ie

More to follow