Kill Equestrian Centre owners set for potential €8.3m in revenue for housing Ukrainian refugees

The owners of the Kill Equestrian Centre in Co Kildare are set for potential revenue of €8.3 million in accommodating Ukrainians fleeing the war with Russia.

That is according to details of the latest tranche of contracts with accommodation providers, which show a potential €64.7 million in combined contracts to house Ukrainians was entered into during the first quarter of this year.

In a recent written Dáil reply to Sinn Féin Kildare North TD Réada Cronin, the Minister for Integration, Roderic O’Gorman TD, confirmed that the first group of 114 individuals from Ukraine were due to arrive at Kill Equestrian Centre from April 24th. Further arrivals over the following month will bring the total number of displaced Ukrainians residing at the centre to 340.

The Kill contract has been awarded to an entity called Newtownsland (Kill) Ltd. The firm is co-owned by property construction group Montane Developments (Ireland) which recorded pretax profits of €5.87 million in 2021 as revenues increased by 40 per cent to €33 million.

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The published notice provides details of 91 contracts entered into with accommodation providers in counties including Donegal, Monaghan, Westmeath, Offaly, Wicklow, Limerick, Clare, Laois, Cork, Roscommon, Dublin, Mayo, Louth, Cavan, Leitrim, Wexford, Sligo, Tipperary and Waterford.

Kerry accounts for the highest number of new contracts at 17.

Clonford Property at Lough Currane, Co Kerry, has entered a contract with the department with a potential value of €2.16 million while Emardress Ltd, with an address of Killarney Towers Hotel, has entered a contract with a potential value of €1.176 million.

Separate contract details show that Manor Capital Investments Ltd of Breakers Hostel, Co Kerry has entered a contract valued at €315,880 while Agha Dev Bond Street of Abode Guesthouse, Co Kerry has entered a contact with a value of €485,228.

A note attached to the contracts award notice states that, given the large number of refugees seeking accommodation and the urgency involved, the Department was not in a position to procure the necessary contracts by advertising openly and could rely on an exception under a EU directive to negotiate directly without prior publication to put in place a number of short service contracts.

This was done “in the context of an ongoing emergency response to a humanitarian crisis”.

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Meanwhile, fresh doubt has been cast over an end-of-year deadline for 700 modular homes for Ukrainian refugees due to difficulties accessing suitable sites.

A presentation by the Office of Public Works (OPW) prepared for a meeting of the Oireachtas Committee on Housing confirmed that 204 modular homes on five sites will begin to be handed over for occupation from next month. It also indicated that a further 106 homes on two sites in Tullamore, Co Offaly and Rathdowney, Co Laois will be completed from August 2023.

However, the OPW has no up-to-date information on the expected completion dates of the remaining 370 quick-build homes promised by the Government to accommodate as many as 2,800 refugees.