More than 15,000 Ukrainian refugees have arrived in Ireland to date, and emergency accommodation is reportedly soon set to be exhausted at the current rate of arrival.
According to BreakingNews.ie, the government has been informed that emergency accommodation will be depleted within weeks, and authorities will have to begin setting up tents, prefabs and modular dormitory blocks for the new arrivals.
The government is reportedly scrambling to locate suitable buildings which could be converted into living spaces, such as churches and other properties.
According to the Irish Times, Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien said earlier this week that 500 “significant” properties have been identified so far.
“They would be refurbishments,” he said, speaking on RTÉ Radio’s Today with Claire Byrne.
“A lot of what we are going to be doing is taking old commercial stock, old state stock and converting that in to apartments or homes.”
He added that “nothing is off the table” for accommodating the new arrivals seeking asylum.
The government has already projected that as many as 200,000 refugees may come to Ireland – double the number that countries such as France or the US are taking.
Ireland is planning to take twice as many Ukrainian refugees as France and the United States, despite those countries having vastly larger populations and economies.#gripthttps://t.co/dHkqQ2oyEV
— gript (@griptmedia) March 25, 2022
If even half this number was to arrive, the government’s own official estimates say it could run the taxpayer billions, between accommodation costs, health needs, education, and more.
According to a government briefing, if Ireland accepts 200,000 Ukrainian refugees it could cost billions annually.
Read now: https://t.co/RWnhot9DBq#gript pic.twitter.com/HXJd1bCODt
— gript (@griptmedia) March 29, 2022