Housing & Planning

Refugee homelessness crisis ‘not over’ - Immigrant Council of Ireland

Freeing up of student accommodation has helped house more Ukrainians and in turn freed up other places for asylum seekers

An encampment of tents used by homeless asylum seekers at Mount Street, Dublin, in May. Photograph: Conor Ó Mearáin / Collins Photo Agency
An encampment of tents used by homeless asylum seekers at Mount Street, Dublin, in May. Photograph: Conor Ó Mearáin / Collins Photo Agency
Vivienne Clarke
Fri Jun 16 2023 - 10:10

The Chief Executive of the Immigrant Council of Ireland, Brian Killoran, has said that although homelessness was no longer a threat facing international protection applicants arriving in Ireland, the crisis was “not over by any extent” and the situation remained “extremely precarious”.

Speaking on RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland, Mr Killoran said the crisis, which included the burning of tents in Dublin, put the impetus on the State to find alternative accommodation for people arriving into Ireland seeking protection.

“The types of accommodation and ongoing situation remains extremely precarious,” he said.

Following the prioritisation of the issue by a number of Government departments, there had been a scramble to find places for international asylum applicants, he said. Additional sources of accommodation had now been provided, including the freeing up of student accommodation, which had helped to house more Ukrainians and in turn freed up other places to accommodate asylum seekers.

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[ Nearly 1,400 asylum seekers slept rough for up to 10 weeks this year, including four children ]

However, Mr Killoran warned that there was still a short term or reactive response to accommodating the large number of refugees and international protection applicants more than one year on from the war in Ukraine.

Decisions were being made week to week regarding contracts and whether or not it was or would be possible to use certain accommodation. The department responsible had said it is capable of doing the reactive or short-term aspect.

“And when it is reactive and when it is short term, there will be knock on implications that are unforeseen and things that will get complicated,” this highlighted the importance of prioritising long-term solutions, he said.

Irish people had stepped up to help fill the gap, but that was not sustainable in the long term either.

Vivienne Clarke

Vivienne Clarke is a reporter